Things Unseen Sequel To Millennium Ritual
by Black-Breeze
Summary: ENDED BY LACK OF INSPIRATION AND NEW REVIEWERS. A year passed since the Millennium Ritual, and Yugi starts to get recurring dreams. Meanwhile, Kaiba's new game is still on the ground. But what happens when an upcoming tournament is more than it seems?
1. Prologue

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own YGO, only my characters.  
  
Chapter 1: Prologue  
  
As you may have known, this particular story is a sequel to the Millennium Ritual. But to save you the trouble of reading the entire story, I shall tell you the words that started it all.  
  
It begins in Domino High, when Yugi meets for the first time the new foreign exchange student, Aura Riordan, green eyed, a girl with black hair, and golden strands of hair, two on each side of her head, and a little one on her forehead. She came from the country of Egypt for reasons unknown, at least, not yet. Before going to school, Yugi received a dream which was really a memory from his yami's past of his sister. After a duel between the persistent Joey and Aura, Aura stood as the victor, making her remember a particular memory. After school, both Yugi and Seto Kaiba received a warning from Aura, a warning about their loved ones. The next day, Serenity Wheeler, Solomon Moto, and Mokuba Kaiba were kidnapped.  
  
After a chase for the Egyptian girl, they catch her unconscious and wonder what to do with her, when she disappeared out of the room and into the dark streets. As Yugi and friends chase after her, they are soon surrounded by Millennium Hunters, people who hunt for objects from the Pharaoh, who would have captured them, had not for Aura soon come to their rescue. The next day, they wake up in a plane headed for Egypt. On the plane Yami realizes that Aura shares some of the same features and characteristics of his departed sister. Little did they realize that the spirit of the Ring was aware of what was soon to be.  
  
On the plane ride, Aura explains of a ritual known as the Millennium Ritual, and of what's its outcome she did not know, or so it appeared. The only knowledge of the ritual she gave is that the ritual needed three pure hearts for a sacrifice. Of course, the stubborn CEO did not believe it. Either way, as they landed on the sands of Egypt, they made course for the Healer's home, a woman of many secrets. On the plane Yami realizes that Aura carries a Millennium Item similar to the necklace his sister wore.  
  
As the story moves on, they realize that the pure hearts was a sham, something to lure Yugi, Kaiba, and Aura to the ritual, something that Aura knew for quite some time. But before they find out, Aura was hurt badly, after disappearing for days. The next day, she disappeared once more, a black rose on her pillow, a message sent by Shanek, the leader of the Millennium Hunters. On the same day, Aura confesses through Duke that Priestess Maeve, Yami's sister, had lived inside the Millennium Orb, the only Millennium Item not created by shadow magic.  
  
But they found out the information and Aura too late. The ritual completed, with the help of Kaiba and Yami's Millennium Items and ancient pasts, Lucian, a shadow monster, takes control of Aura's body. In the end, they realize that Lucian was a part of Aura's special ka. Aura's mind sent to the Shadow Realm, Aura's ka was split in two, Lucian the black phoenix, Amunet the white phoenix. Both wreaked chaos across Egypt, causing Mokuba to get hurt. The rest soon find out Kaiba and Mokuba's past with Aura, the Japanese/Egyptian girl.  
  
Much more happens, but to continue on, they found out that Aura knew what was the Millennium Ritual from the start, and found out that a necromancer was the cause of the chaos in the very beginning. When Kaiba is sent to the Shadow Realm to save Ryou and Aura's minds (for Bakura sent Ryou's mind to the Shadow Realm), it causes Aura to go in a rage, blaming the confused Seto Kaiba for all that happened to her. Screaming, Amunet and Lucian, now in their human forms, were forced back into phoenixes, and as Ryou and Kaiba went back to the real world, Aura did not. At least not in that way. When Aura did come back, someone else was controlling her, the necromancer who started it all.  
  
After a hard battle against their own duel monster cards, Yami found out the way to free Aura's body, and after piercing the web of spells around her, the necromancer disappeared.  
  
But there was more to be done. As they realized that Aura's mind was still in the Shadows, and so, Kaiba being the only one who knew Aura best (for most of the gang went to the hospital, for Duke, Tea, and Tristan were hurt during the battle.), went in to help Aura remember. After the horrible memory of her Egyptian mother and brother dying, Aura remembered, and quickly Kaiba made her realize what she was. As a Destroyer, she must choose the fate of the world. Is the race of men to fall, as the world plunges into darkness, or the alternative, the world and men alike spared, only to cause the all the people Aura loved, to be sent to oblivion?  
  
Her choice was to kill the Destroyer, herself.  
  
Later on, as all but Ishizu and Shadi left for Egypt, all had changed. There were casualties, such as the Healer, who were murdered by three hooded women, and Aura. Those who were hurt in this battle was Mokuba, Tea, Tristan, and Duke. Of course, a funeral was sent by Aura's Japanese father, Mr. Shields, and her few friends. Only fourteen people arrived at Aura's funeral. A coffin fell slowly into the Earth's soil empty, for there was no body recovered. Inside it, however, held fourteen white roses, all from Yugi, Kaiba, their friends, Shadi, Ishizu, and Rasa, a minor character.  
  
Yami to this day still blames Kaiba for Aura and Maeve's (the yami) death, for he was the one who let go of her hand to fall into the fiery abyss to her death. But what he doesn't realize is that the hard headed Kaiba did it so Aura would be with her family once more, and for eternity. So, to end that story, Kaiba and Mokuba went to America, along with Duke, to pursue their dreams. As for the others, they stayed in Japan, thinking everything will be 'normal'.  
  
And during this whole thing, the three women, known as 'Three of Fate' watched gravely, for they knew that what had happen, was not meant to be. Someone has tampered with destiny, and now they must fix it. This story starts a year later, but a few weeks before the people involved went to their own roads, something happened, something big.  
  
It starts a week after Aura's funeral, back in Egypt, while it was still in ruins from the duel monster cards. Where it begins is on a boat with six men, floating on the Nile. The leader of the men, named Sadiki, sees a girl floating on a piece of wood, with black hair and four strands of golden hair, two on each side, with a little one hanging on her forehead.  
  
Alarmed, Sadiki yells out in Egyptian, "Men! Grab the nearest floating device! There's a GIRL down there!" Quickly they stop the boat, and as one of the men jumped into the water, the girl awoke, looking sleepily to her sides. The man who dived toward her, named Adio, grabbed her around the waist, and quickly pulled her up on deck, as the men crowded around her, asking questions.  
  
Pushing the men out of the way, Sadiki crouched down, and looked into her green eyes, asking in Egyptian, "What's your name, girl?" She looked at him with confusion. He tried again in Japanese. She still didn't understand. Then he repeated the question in English. The girl looked up, staring at him hard. Her left eye was hazy, as if she was blind in that eye.  
  
"I. . . I don't remember. . ." was all the girl said. She fainted, as Sadiki quickly grabbed her, seeing her clutching something hard.  
  
A lapis lazuli stone was in her hand, glittering a cerulean blue.  
  
To Be Continued. . .  
  
So that's the beginning of this story. For those of you who read my story before, I'm sorry you had to go through that again. My apologizes. In the next chapter it will explain what happens to Yugi, Kaiba, and a few others. In the prologue it didn't include EVERYTHING that happened, because then this chapter would be too long. I'll explain more later on. And for those of you who are new to my story. . . HI! ::waves hands wildly:: 


	2. An Invitation

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own YGO, only my characters.  
  
Chapter 2: An Invitation  
  
"Hey Yugi!" A voice called out, making the small tricolor haired boy turn around. Behind him, he can see his friends, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Ryou running towards him. Grinning, he stopped and waited for them to catch up.  
  
As they stopped, Joey pounded his chest, saying, "Man, isn't it great that it's summer vacation? No homework, no annoying teachers, no scratchy school uniforms. . ."  
  
"Aw, come on Joey, school isn't THAT bad. I mean, school was a lot of fun too," Tea protested. Tristan and Joey stared at her strangely. They were walking down the street, people busy with their own lives.  
  
"Tell us one good thing about school," Tristan said. Before Tea could start though, both Ryou and Yugi stepped in the middle, sensing a fight.  
  
Looking at side to side, Ryou exclaimed, "Well! Look at the time! Almost time for tea, isn't it Yugi?"  
  
"Oh yeah! Grandpa wanted to meet us at the Game Shop today! Remember Joey? He said he has a surprise for us!" Yugi agreed, pushing Joey's face away from Tea's.  
  
"What do you mean, Yugi?" mumbled Joey through Yugi's hand, "We just got out of school. . ."  
  
Tea, being the more sensible one of the three, said quickly, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" After the words were spoken, she sprinted down the street, followed by her friends after a few protests. People ahead of them flew out of the way, screaming, "BAKA!" after them. They laughed and continued forward. The race was long and hard, but in the end Tristan was the winner, throwing his fist in the air and touching the door to the shop. After a few seconds, the rest came up and huffed and puffed for air. Tristan smirked, eyeing the red Joey.  
  
"Where. . . huff. . .Did you learn. . . huff huff. . .How to run. . . hoo. . .like THAT?" Joey asked slowly.  
  
"Have you ever heard of track? Come on, let's get in. I'm hungry." Tristan said, walking through the entrance.  
  
"Hey wait up!" Joey said, running through toward the entrance, as the door slammed in his face. Tea, Yugi, and Ryou winced as he rubbed his nose and opened the door to walk in. Shaking his head, Ryou stepped into the shop right after Joey. Yugi collapsed to the ground, laughing. Tea laughed too, and held out her hand.  
  
"You need help Yugi?" she asked, chuckling.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Hey, after this we should. . ." Yugi started, until he saw Tea's hand.  
  
He saw the burn marks on her hand, spread toward her entire body, Yugi guessed. His face grew darker, as he remembered what was the cause of the burn marks. He remembered the phoenixes, Aura's ka, and their burning fire, engulfing Tea, Duke and Tristan altogether. If it hadn't been for Maeve, Aura's yami, to heal them, they might not have survived. And then. . .  
  
'She died,' thought Yugi sadly. In his mind, he felt Yami slam the door of his soul room hard, with Yugi wincing.  
  
"Earth to Yugi!" Tea exclaimed, waving her hand in front of his face, "You coming?"  
  
Yugi shook his head this way and that, snapping out of it. Smiling, he said, "Yeah, let's go in." He took her hand, and brushed off the dust on his pants. Opening the door, they stepped into the shop.  
  
Already they can hear Joey and Tristan arguing in the back room of the store, where the kitchen and living room was. As they walked passed the booster packs and duel monster cards, Yugi noticed something different about the shop. Pasted on all the walls were pictures of pyramids and duel monsters, with writing on the bottom too far away from Yugi to see. Shrugging, Yugi ran after Tea, who was already in the living room. Inside, Yugi took off his jacket, to see the other boys doing the same. Unfortunately, they were arguing at the same time.  
  
Funny thing was that they were arguing about candy and ice cream. Yugi rolled his eyes, and plopped down to floor by Ryou to watch what happened. They looked in awe how passionately they fought about the subject.  
  
"Isn't it amusing to see their arguments?" Ryou said in his British accent.  
  
"Very," Tea replied, taking her own cup of tea (heh, that's funny). While Yugi was about to separate them, his grandpa suddenly waltzed into the room, holding some mail. He held onto the door frame with a face. Yugi stood up, and Joey and Tristan stopped fighting. Ryou and Tea looked on with confusion.  
  
"Eh, is something wrong, Gramps?" Joey asked, letting go of Tristan's neck.  
  
"Yugi, can I speak to you. . ." Solomon started. Everyone stood with Yugi. "Alone?"  
  
Yugi looked at his friends strangely as he walked out of the room with his grandfather. As Solomon closed the door, he turned around to look at his grandson with a grave look.  
  
"What's wrong, Grandpa?" Yugi asked, suddenly clutching the Millennium Puzzle tightly. He didn't answer; instead he handed Yugi an envelope. He stared at it, to see a strange wax seal on it. On the seal held a bird's head, with an insignia on the bottom. He noticed that Solomon already opened it. As he turned the envelope around, he saw that it was addressed to him, and only him.  
  
He took the letter out.  
  
_** Dear Mr. Yugi Moto,  
  
You are currently invited to the new Duel Monsters Tournament known as 'The Osiris Tournament'. I, Apis Enari, shall be the host of this tournament, which will be held at Cairo, Egypt. If you wish to join my contest, please bring your deck, this invitation, and clothing. Food and other objects shall be provided for in the hotel. The winner of the tournament shall receive the treasured golden statue of Osiris, worth millions of dollars. Of course, there are more prizes, but that shall be further explained later on. You shall travel to Egypt by ship, taking us well up to four to six days. My assistants shall pick you up to go to Egypt on the 13th of July at 3:30 in the afternoon. You may bring up to two guests with you, no more, no less. If you do not wish to come, well, don't come.  
  
Sincerely,  
Apis Enari**_  
  
As he finished reading the letter, he looked at his grandpa with a neutral face.  
  
"Grandpa, if you don't want me to go, then that's fine. I'll stay here," he said after a moment. Solomon shook his head, and then looked back to Yugi.  
  
"That's not it. You may go if you want, it doesn't sound suspicious. It just sounds like another tournament, that's all. I'm fine with that, Yugi, because you go to tournaments twice a week now!" Solomon chuckled, smiling brightly. Yugi sighed, relieved. Then he continued, "But. . . I just wanted to know if you were ready, that's all."  
  
Now it was Yugi's turn to laugh. "What wouldn't I be ready for, Grandpa?"  
  
Solomon turned serious. "I wanted to know if you were ready to go back," he said.  
  
At first he didn't understand, but slowly Yugi realized what he meant. What Solomon truly wondered if he was ready to face the past again. The memories of the year before.  
  
"A year may have passed," Solomon continued, "But I can see that the horrible memories still haunt you. Every time you glance at Tea and Tristan, every time you touch your Millennium Puzzle. So it makes me wonder if you are ready to go to Egypt." Yugi was silent.  
  
"So. . . Do you still want to go?" he asked softly. Yugi was unsure, therefore turning toward Yami.  
  
'Should we Yami? Should we go back?'  
  
'Are you ready to forget the past, and go on to the future?' Yami asked quietly, saying the quote his sister Maeve use to tell him all the time.  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Then let's go.'  
  
Yugi took a deep breath, and turned toward his grandfather once more.  
  
"I'm ready," Yugi replied, clutching the envelope. Solomon nodded, and opened the door to the room the others were in.  
  
"I respect your decision, Yugi," Solomon answered. As Yugi went inside, Solomon said, "Make sure to pay respects to Aura before you leave. You have a week left anyway."  
  
Yugi nodded, and swung the door shut behind him. Solomon glanced at the posters for the Osiris Tournament he put up just that day, and shook his head with a sigh. He then turned on the TV by the cash register, and absent-mindedly began to sweep with the broom outside, the TV forgotten.  
  
It was flipped to a news channel, as the anchor woman in it said, ". . . And the disappearances around the world keep increasing, as family members young and old weep for their lost loved ones. . . In other news, Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporations, who had recently moved to America to create a brand new game, was robbed. Shipments of his new computer chips were stolen by seven people while the pilots were stopping in Egypt for more fuel for the rest of the trip. Neighboring towns said that the chips were possibly stolen by a band of thieves, in which Seto Kaiba ignores with anger and rage. For more information on this subject, please go to our website. . ."  
  
To Be Continued. . .  
  
Well, this took rather long. But hey, I got the second-but-actually-first- chapter done. This all sounds weird, I know, but it'll make sense later on. The news thingy is important, trust me, it is. As for what year this story is in. . . I have no idea. Guess a year after the YGO series. In the third chapter, we shall see how little Kaiba is doing. . . Till then, bye!  
  



	3. Computer Chips

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO, only my characters.

Chapter 3: Computer Chips

Kaiba paced back and forth in his New York loft as Mokuba stared at the TV. Kaiba ruffled his hair, glaring at the news report about yours truly. The incompetent anchor woman sat in the flat screen TV, blabbing about the heist made in Egypt, showing a video taped during the time his precious computer chips were stolen. On the screen seven hooded and caped people walked into the plane, passing surveillance and disarming the people surrounding it. Kaiba groaned and sat beside his little brother, eyes glued on the screen.

They were shown inside the plane, looking through the boxes of shipment. As they were searching through, two of the men looked into the camera itself and waved, literally waved, to it. Mokuba had to restrain his brother from destroying the TV. Their eyes filled with amusement, they suddenly pointed to a box that had the Kaiba Corp. logo on it, being held by another man. Two other men walked toward the camera, holding up weapons and boxes from other companies. Kaiba gritted his teeth. The five men all examined their new booty in front of the camera, making sure that Kaiba (and other owners of the stolen shipments) saw what they were doing.

Suddenly another man with a gold mouth mask (they all wear mouth masks, the others masks are silver), the leader, made a signal, and they all started piling out of the plane. The leader waited for the last of the seven, who happened to be a woman. As she started forward, she turned back to the camera and threw a heavy object towards it, the screen blank. Suddenly the anchor woman was back on the screen, but before she said anything, Kaiba turned off the TV, standing once more.

There was a moment of silence, until Kaiba said aloud, "How is it possible? How is it that a bunch of. . . of _barbarians_ like them, can go past one of the best security systems in the world and steal my chips? How? Why would they even _want_ it?"

"Well. . . if they went past one of the best security systems in the world, they must be pretty smart, wouldn't they?" Mokuba answered quietly, fingering his duel monsters locket. Kaiba glared at his brother, his white business attire not fitting his mood.

"Or maybe they were just _lucky_, Mokuba. Have you ever thought of that? Did you? There must have been a glitch in the system or something. Something must have happened to it, that's all." Said Kaiba, stroking his chin and pacing once more.

"Why did you even need it? What's so important about it anyway?" Mokuba asked bravely. Kaiba eyed him closely.

"The chips were designed so duelists can feel, think, and _become_ the duel monster themselves. A part of my new game that I was planning to do, until they were stolen." He sighed heavily, walking over to the large window. Outside, they could see the vast New York buildings and Empire State Building as well.

"But Seto, why can't you make more? Or send for other shipments? You did that before when a buyer asked for your duel disks." Mokuba questioned.

"Apis Enari wanted the duel disks, and he offered much money for them. Besides, I had more back in Japan, so I could spare those lost ones. But those chips that were stolen were my only ones, there isn't any more in Japan. In fact, now that I think about it, the duel disks were also lost in Cairo," Kaiba said, not answering his first question, "How interesting."

"So. . . Are you saying that Mr. Enari might have something to do with it?" Mokuba asked, walking beside his brother. Kaiba was silent, looking outside the window.

"He's a suspect, but why? He already has enough duel disks, but he might want more. . . But that still doesn't explain about the computer chips."

They were silent, as Mokuba stared at the ant-like cars passing by.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Mokuba asked, already knowing what to expect.

"We're going to have to go there ourselves, if the authorities won't do anything about it. Pack your bags, Mokuba. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning." Kaiba announced. Turning around, he went across the large room and left.

Mokuba sighed and plopped down on the couch beside him. Delicately he took off his locket, and opened it with a click. Inside was a picture of his brother, about to move a chess piece, but that was not what Mokuba was looking for. Instead, he took out the picture and behind it was a folded duel monsters card. Unfolding it carefully, it revealed what it was. The Wingweaver card, Aura's favorite card.

_'Great. We're going somewhere again. Egypt. **Great**. My birthday's coming up, and Seto doesn't even remember. Sometimes I don't think he even cares. But he did give me Aura' s card last time, that was pretty thoughtful. . . But I don't care. I just wish that things were back to normal. That's what I want.'_ Mokuba thought, replacing the card and the picture back inside the locket.

"Well, I guess I better start packing," said Mokuba, walking out of the room and closing the door shut behind him, "I wonder if Seto's going to join Mr. Enari's tournament there."

Egypt

"Morning, sleepy head!" the twins said aloud, removing the covers off of the golden black haired girl. The girl opened her right eye annoyingly, her other eye blind.

She groaned aloud, saying, "Leave me alon' Chike, Chuma. Can't deal with your crap in the morning."

They laughed, their dark black hair bouncing. Suddenly Chike took her in his arms, stumbling a little. The girl stared at him, startled.

"What in God's name are you doing?!" she said, pounding his head with her fists.

"Ergh, A, you've got to lose some pounds!" Chike announced, stumbling.

"Yeah A, go on a diet!" Chuma chuckled, slapping A's bottom. Now that went too far. A jumped down and pushed Chike away, and held Chuma by the collar.

"If your grubby little hands ever touch my ass again, I swear--" A threatened. Suddenly the door opened, and the leader Sadiki, a man with medium length brown hair tied in a ponytail, walked in.

Glaring at the twins, Sadiki said in an annoyed voice, "If either of you touch A again, I'll throw you off this boat with my own hands. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Chike and Chuma said in unison, running out the door like deer.

Sadiki rolled his eyes and walked over to a very red A. She glared at him, and Sadiki said, "Hey, at least they're gone now, right?"

"I won't be satisfied until you got them in chains heading for the Bermuda Triangle," A pouted, walking behind a curtain to dress in her work clothes. Sadiki sat down, used to this arrangement. "Or, you can give me a lock. That way, I can keep ALL of you out."

"Badru and Zuka need help on the stuff we found on that plane," Sadiki said, changing the subject.

"Why?" A asked.

"Because they _do_. Now hurry up and get dressed. We got to get it to the outing soon," Sadiki ordered.

"We have one more day left," she muttered. A stepped away from the curtain, dressed in Aladdin style pants and a top. Sadiki stood up, looking a little red, and walked out of the room with A. As they stepped onto deck, they saw a muscular bald man with a very green face.

"You okay Adio?" Sadiki asked, as they both stopped to a halt. He nodded, holding a thumb up, until he threw his head over the side of the boat to throw up.

"N-Never better. . ." Adio replied, after resurfacing.

"After all the years on the boat, you'd think he wouldn't get sea sick," A whispered, as they approached two men huddled together over a table. Zuka, with wild light blond hair and a sweat band on his forehead, examined a chip with a magnified glass, while Badru, a man with a bandanna on his head, examined the weapons. They looked up as Sadiki and A walked forward.

"Ah, did you have a good morning, A?" Zuka asked, putting away his magnified glass to examine the chip with his own eyes.

"You can say that," she said, seating herself onto a nearby chair. In the morning air a light breeze blew, rocking the boat a little.

As Sadiki sat down beside A, Badru held a rifle and said to him, "So, do you think A here will have any idea what the chips are?"

"Well she has to," Sadiki said, glancing at A, "She's the only one here besides Zuka who knows how to work the newest technology." Adio, Chike, and Chuma arrived at the table, standing for there were no more chairs.

"What did you find out so far Zuka?" A asked, as she held a chip and stared at it closely.

"Not much. All I found out was that the chip was designed for human and some sort of technology connection. Oh, and this logo is on every one." Zuka explained, pointing to a small sign 'KC' on the chip. A took the chip and examined the logo.

"'KC' huh?" A thought, thinking hard. Turning back toward Zuka, she asked, "Can I use your laptop?"

"Why do you need it?" Adio asked, as Zuka handed over a silver laptop to her. A didn't explain as she began typing on the computer. Everyone's eyes were glued on the screen as A went to search engine to search engines on the internet. A few minutes later, A sat back, satisfied.

"So? Whatda find?" Chuma asked, looking over her shoulder.

"That logo belongs to _Kaiba Corporations_. According to this, the CEO _has_ been working on some chips, but I can't get further info on it. It's classified." A said, pointing to the screen. Now the six men crowded behind her, trying to see the information shown.

"Hey, isn't that short for Kaiba Corp?" Chike asked Badru.

"Yeah, why you ask?" he said, as everyone stared at him.

"Isn't the CEO Seto Kaiba, the world champion of Duel Monsters?" Chike answered. Zuka's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Not anymore. He lost his title at Duelist Kingdom, remember? The tournament that was held by Pegasus himself." Sadiki stated, turning back to the screen.

"That Yugi Moto kid got him, right? And at Battle City Tournament. Weren't you invited Sadiki?" Badru asked. Sadiki didn't answer.

A looked up from the screen, saying, "You're right. The CEO is Seto Kaiba. And last year he moved to America to make a new game."

"Then that's it; the chips were for his new game," Zuka said, "I wonder what the game is."

"It doesn't matter. We'll make good money with it anyway. Nice work, Zuka, A." Sadiki said, as everyone stood to leave to their own matters. As Sadiki walked away, A ran after him, her black ponytail swinging.

"Sadiki, what about the CEO? Won't he come after them? After all, I heard that he doesn't take losses very happily." A said.

"It doesn't matter; the chips will be long gone before he comes over here." Sadiki reassured, leaving A.

"But what if he comes for Mr. Enari's tournament?"

Sadiki stopped and looked back toward A. Saying nothing, he walked away and onto shore, disappearing in the crowd of Egyptians. A sighed loudly.

"Men," she muttered, walking back toward her room, "Sadiki is a man of small words. Wonder if he knows that I'm invited to Enari's tournament." She shrugged to herself. "Probably, 'cause he would be invited too. But if that Kaiba character comes to the tournament, that'll cause quite a problem."

As she closed the door, A did not notice the three women spying on her.

To Be Continued. . .  
Thanks to the people who reviewed. Hopefully the people who read The Millennium Ritual will find out that the sequel is up. Anyway, if you have any questions about the story, say it in a review. Criticism is accepted. Except for The Silent Reaper and Eboo Eboo, they just like to mock my story, which is not very funny. They correct every mistake in my story, like little annoying robots.


	4. Dreams and A Graveyard

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual 

Disclaimer: If I owned YGO, then what am I doing here?

Chapter 4: Dreams And A Graveyard

_Yugi opened his eyes._

_He was sitting on a cloud, the sun streaming rays of light down his back. He sighed, content with the world around him. Just beside him, several blue cranes flew to the east, all traveling in a V-formation. Yugi looked at the sight with wonder._

_Suddenly he heard a commotion down in the world below him. The boy looked down, to see that he was above Egypt and its vast Nile River. In the river he saw a boat sailing, with six men working hard on its deck. Yugi, wanting to see more closely, flew down to the ground, drifting on the breeze. As his feet lightly tapped on the boat deck, he ran over toward the side where the men huddled at. Yugi stood by a man with long brown hair, which was tied in a ponytail, his bangs covering his eyes. Quickly he yelled something to a tall muscular man, and the man jumped into the water. The interesting thing was that Yugi couldn't hear anything that they said, as if it was one of those __movies__ with movement but no sound._

_When Yugi finally looked down, he saw a girl floating in the water, and that the man who dove in was already pulling her up onto the boat. As he tried to look closer, the whole world suddenly turned dark, and for once, he could hear the sound of coughing. He was left alone in the dark, until Yugi saw a light not too far away from him. He ran over to the light, and as he reached it, he gasped at what he saw._

_Yami was on the ground, his blank eyes staring at him. Yugi turned to see a strange form in the darkness, its colorless eyes filled with uttermost sadness. In its hands were the shattered pieces of the Millennium Orb, a few scattered about the floor. Yugi turned back to see that a misty substance was slowly coming out of Yami and into the strange form, its eyes growing with pain. When Yugi tried to reach Yami, he suddenly disappeared, as Yugi stared at the empty space with horror. Turning around, he saw that the form took in Yami also. Yugi stared at the form with glistening, angry eyes._

_"Give him back!!" he screamed, running toward the form. Suddenly another dark form appeared, and in its hands was the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi gasped. "No!! That's mine, you freak! Give it to me!!"_

_The other form dropped the Millennium Puzzle, shattering into pieces. Yugi screamed as he wavered into the darkness._

Yugi sat up in his bed with sweat beading down his throat, his breathing short and hard.

This was the fifth time he dreamed the nightmare, as Yugi shook his head and quickly looked to his nightstand, to see the Millennium Puzzle safe. He threw his bed sheets off and ran over to his desk, opening the top right drawer. A velvet drawstring bag was atop of a few books, and Yugi grabbed the bag and spilled its contents on his table. There, scattered on the table, were the gold pieces of the Millennium Orb (destroyed a year ago from his own hand to protect it from anyone using it), safe and sound. Yugi sighed heavily, and collapsed to the chair behind him.

Should he tell Yami about the dream? _'Nah,'_ Yugi thought, _'He'd over react on it, but this isn't the first time this happened.'_ He remembered his dream about Yami's past memory a year ago. _'At least at that time I knew what it was about. This is more complicated. I don't understand; will something happen at the tournament in Egypt?'_ Now he was even more afraid to go, as he stared at the calendar pinned on the wall.

July 11. The tournament would be on July 13, two more days. For a moment, Yugi forgot the dream and remembered what happened days before.

::Flashback, six days before::

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us, Grandpa?" Yugi asked, eating chips with Joey, Tea, Tristan and Ryou. He shook his head in disgust.

"Thank you for the offer Yugi, but I'd rather not. I'm not really in the mood to face Egypt's scorching sun, noisy atmosphere, and its oh-so greedy merchants, err, no matter how interesting the history is. Besides, I think you'll have more fun with your friends," Solomon said, smiling.

"Hee hee, that's right, 'cause me and Yug' will be the reason why they're going anyway." Joey said with a laugh. Tea rolled her eyes, as Ryou smirked a little. Solomon shook his head and left the room.

"All right, all right, we get it. Congrats on getting an invitation to the tournament." Tea said sarcastically, waving an imaginary flag.

"Obviously Mr. Enari invited me to the tournament for my mad skills in Duel Monsters. I'm quite popular now in the Dueling World, if I do say so myself." Joey gloated, waving the invitation in the air with one hand and pounding his chest with another.

"Obviously Mr. Enari must have been drunk when he wrote your invitation," Tristan said with grin. Joey glared at him, as he continued, "Just kidding, man. You deserve the invite."

"Yeah, after your great performance in Battle City, not counting the little duel with Kaiba, who wouldn't want you in your tournament?" Ryou said, knowing better not to mention Merik's name.

"Eh, Kaiba is okay. . . I guess. Man, we haven't been in a tournament in like a year. It's boring when you don't get to duel and fight, ya know?" Joey exclaimed, hands behind his head. Yugi nodded in response.

"So okay, we're all going to the tournament, right? Is your sister coming?" Tea asked hopefully, not wanting to be the only girl there.

"Sorry Tea, but she can't. Serenity and my mom are going on a vacation to the Bahamas. How about Duke, Yug'? Can he come?" Joey asked.

Yugi shook his head. "He sent me an email saying that he wouldn't make it, but that he wishes both of us good luck."

"So that's it," said Ryou, "It's just going to be us."

"Just like at Duelist Kingdom," Tristan stated, smiling.

"Yeah," Yugi said.

"And I can't wait!!" Joey yelled in triumph, crushing the can he was holding and spilling the liquid onto the floor.

::End Of Flashback::

That was when Yugi realized that today was the day they agreed to visit Aura's grave. Yugi's face darkened, wondering why only he was still haunted by the previous year's memories.

_'Everyone else gotten over it,'_ Yugi thought, as he put out a set of clothes to wear, _'Why can't I?'  
_  
After a few minutes he was done dressing, and looking at the time, saw that it was 11:23 am, about 30 minutes more to go meet the gang in the graveyard. Dressed in his usual attire, only without the jacket, he placed the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, gathered the pieces of the Orb and dropped them in the drawstring bag. Carefully he put the bag in his drawer. Grabbing a muffin in the kitchen, he headed out for the graveyard.

Yugi was walking down the street, discarding the unfinished muffin in a trash can. Cars passed by him, as he walked amongst the crowd of people. He looked at his surroundings carefully. Turning this way and that, he tried to look for a landmark of some kind. Sighing, he looked down on his watch, to see that he had eight more minutes left.

Buying a bouquet of flowers from a nearby stand, Yugi subconsciously chose a direction, thinking about his dream.

'_Well, one thing's for sure; I have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious at Egypt. That dream was a warning, and I better take it. But why is this happening? I can understand about the last part, but not the first. Why in the world did the dream include that boat?'_ Yugi sighed. _'I'll find that out later, but to other matters. . . Yami hasn't been out of his soul room in awhile. I wonder what's going on.'_ But before he could think any further on the subject, he approached the gate to the graveyard. Looking at his watch, it said 12:00 pm, just in time.

Now the graveyard is a rather lavish one, with its surrounding nature, beautiful landscape, and of course, many of the small but large hills of graves on the hillside. But something about the about it made Yugi on alert. Opening the gate, Yugi walked toward the path, his bouquet dropping a few petals. He glanced at passing tombstones, all the same, yet different, each with its own small symbol. But as he turned the corner, he saw something that made him run faster.

Police cars were all surrounding a particular grave. As Yugi ran faster, he saw that Joey, Tea, Ryou and Tristan were there, gaping at the thing in front of them.

When he finally ran up to them, he asked through heaving breaths, "Wha-What happened?" They didn't answer, and as Yugi slowly turned his head, he gasped at what he saw.

The grave was completely dug, and in place of the hill was a huge hole. To the side was the coffin, now just a pile of wood. Yugi didn't understand; whose grave did it belong to? But there was no need for a reply, for scattered on the ground were 14 crushed white roses, shriveled and dried. Slowly realizing, Yugi looked at the tombstone to see the name.

Aura Riordan.

Yugi dropped the bouquet, eyes wide with horror. His friends continued to stare, Tea clutching her rose tightly.

"Who done this?!" A man roared behind them. Yugi turned, to see that the man had grey hair and a beard, his brown eyes bright and powerful. No sooner did he think this that Yugi realized who he was. It was Mr. Shields, Aura's father and only living family member. Yugi and his friends walked towards him as the police man stared in fear.

"I-I don't know sir. I'm sorry what happened to your daughter's grave, but our men are trying their hardest--" he stuttered, wringing his hands.

"You're not trying hard enough!! Look what happened to her GRAVE!! How is she supposed to rest in peace if her resting place was DISTURBED?! Do you _know_ what my company and I can do to you? DO YOU?!" threatened Mr. Shields, "Now find the person RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!!" The police officer nodded quickly and ran off.

"Mr. Shields, what happened here?" Tristan asked, as they stood by him.

"Who are you? Oh, you were Aura's friends, weren't you? You went to her funeral," Mr. Shields said sadly, which made Yugi wonder why Aura thought so badly of him, "Did you come to pay your respects? As was I, until I saw this. . . The damn grave keeper didn't even notice, until I came and called the police. Who would have wanted to do this to my daughter? I swear, I will find the person responsible and tear him limb from limb for what he did. . . Best you leave now children."

"But wait! We want to help!" Tea said, still holding her rose. Mr. Shields raised his eyebrows at the thought of it.

"Yeah! We might have an idea about who did it!" Joey exclaimed.

"We can help you, sir," Ryou said, as the man shook his head.

"Unacceptable. This is my problem, not yours. You should go back to your studies," Mr. Shields answered.

"But she was our friend, therefore our problem--" Yugi protested.

"—Which I will solve. Farewell, thank you for actually coming for her; she never really had a lot of friends." Mr. Shields then walked away, leaving the group of teenagers.

Yugi's friends didn't say anything, not noticing Yugi bending down to pick something up. In his hand was a handkerchief, and on one corner of it was a small insignia, somewhat familiar to him.

Yugi stared at the dug up grave, clutching the handkerchief tightly.

To Be Continued. . .

I've seen the future of YGO. . . and it is cool. What sucks is that I know what's gonna happen at the end. A warning to you all, don't EVER try and see what's gonna happen next; it shall tempt thy head to see more of YGO to come. And to think I won't see YGO for weeks. . . How sad. Tell me what happens! By the way, dream is important, remember it! Oh, and to Eboo Eboo, I'll think about that romance idea. KanikaMeskhenet, thanks for your comment about my fanart!


	5. When Chike and Chuma Strike

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual  
  
a/n: The name for the girl in chapter 3 is "A". I found a mistake in my last story, that Yami's past wasn't 5000 years ago, but 3000 years ago. So from now on, it will be 3000, not 5000.  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned YGO. . . A girl can dream.  
  
Chapter 5: When Chike and Chuma Strike  
  
Mokuba stared at his surroundings with awe. He and his brother, Seto Kaiba, arrived at Cairo six days before, as they walked down the street with the Egyptians. Of course Mokuba remembered what Egypt was like before, but never actually _looked_ at anything last time. And now as he was walking, he realized how beautiful and mysterious it really was. He lingered behind, staring at the merchandise on the stand. But as he reached forward to touch the soft silk, Mokuba was soon interrupted by a loud, brash voice.  
  
"Mokuba! Hurry up! We don't have enough time to go sightseeing!" Kaiba yelled over his shoulder, dressed in his white trench coat once more. Mokuba took his hand back, sighed, and ran over to his brother.  
  
Unfortunately Kaiba did not see Egypt as Mokuba did.  
  
"I don't want to stand in this filthy street for another minute," Kaiba explained, as he waited for Mokuba to catch up, "I don't trust the people here. For some reason I know a little runt will try and pickpocket." Mokuba nodded understandingly.  
  
Chike and Chuma were a little ways off, eating bread and grapes bought from the money stolen from tourists.  
  
The day after Kaiba and Mokuba arrived at Egypt was the day Sadiki and the others found out that he came. So they were on the lookout ever since, watching his every move. Each day they switched off, first Sadiki, then Adio, Badru, Zuka, and now Chike and Chuma. They watched him closely, as Chuma popped a grape into his mouth.  
  
"How rude!" Chike exclaimed, watching Kaiba open his briefcase, "Egyptians are not pick-pocketing runts!" As a woman flashing pictures walked by, Chike quickly took her money pouch with skill. Twirling the pouch with his pointer finger, he said, "Isn't that right Chuma?"  
  
"Right Chike! We just take what we need from local tourists! Just because _we_ do it doesn't mean all of _Egypt_ does it," Chuma replied, taking out a spyglass, "Stupid rich boy. He just doesn't get the _essence _of the art of 'borrowing'. For all we know, he could have stolen the idea from another guy." He stared through the spyglass, watching Kaiba take out a laptop.  
  
Suddenly an idea popped up in Chike's head.  
  
"Chuma, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Chike asked, staring at his brother.  
  
"That we need to get Sadiki a haircut?" Chuma replied.  
  
"Yes! Exactly! Now. . . No! That's not what I meant! I mean about stealing something from rich boy over there!" Chike said, pointing at Kaiba.  
  
"Eh?. . . OH! Okay, I'm in. What should we do?" Chuma asked. His brother grinned, and quietly whispered it in his ear. Chuma nodded, and waited for the exact moment to strike.  
  
But back to Kaiba now.  
  
They were sitting on a bench, as Kaiba busily typed away on his laptop. Mokuba had his head in his hands, bored. People walked by, smiling at the little black haired boy. Mokuba smiled back, but right after they passed, he'd slump down and feel bored once more.  
  
"Seto, what do you expect to find here? For all we know, those chips could be long gone." Mokuba said, staring at the computer screen.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I don't know myself. But if these thieves are as smart as you said they were, they would know that no one would buy the chips if they didn't know what it does. The problem is that it still doesn't give me anything to build up on," Kaiba replied, typing away.  
  
"So what are you doing now?" asked Mokuba.  
  
"I'm looking at the people going to the Osiris Tournament," Kaiba said.  
  
"Why?" Mokuba wondered, staring at his brother. He didn't answer, as Kaiba finally found what he was looking for.  
  
There on the screen was a picture of Yugi Moto. Kaiba grinned, glad that he too was invited to the tournament. Maybe in this tournament, Kaiba can duel Yugi once more, and maybe, just maybe. . .  
  
Kaiba lost his train of thought as a black haired boy around his age landed on him.  
  
"There you are!" the boy said, laughing, "I was looking all over for you Chike!"  
  
"What?" Kaiba said, pushing him off of himself, "Get outta here you dirty little rat!" Quickly Kaiba checked his laptop, to see that the computer was miraculously okay.  
  
"Oh, well whada know, you're not Chike. . . Hello, I'm Chuma, who the hell are you?" Chuma smiled, holding out his hand. Mokuba's mouth was open, still not accustomed to hearing that sort of language.  
  
Kaiba gritted his teeth, saying, "You have some nerve cussing to me like that--"  
  
"Hey look! Here comes Chike now!" Chuma interrupted, standing on Kaiba's trench coat, "Hey Chike! Over here!!" Kaiba quickly yanked Chuma's feet off his trench coat, dusting himself off and helping Mokuba up.  
  
"Hey there you are Chuma! I was looking all over for you!" Chike said, bumping hard into Mokuba.  
  
Mokuba glared at the two boys, saying angrily, "Watch where you're going you jerk!"  
  
Chike turned away from Chuma to glance at Mokuba. Turning back, Chike asked, "Who's the twerp?"  
  
Looking at Kaiba, Chike then asked, "And who's Whitey?"  
  
As the Kaiba brothers fumed, Chuma answered, "Ya know, I was just about to ask them that! Who are you?" Chuma stared at Kaiba for an answer.  
  
_'From now on, I officially hate twins,' _thought Kaiba, glaring daggers at them.  
  
Deciding not to find out, Chuma bent down to Mokuba's height and said, "Aw, what a cute little kid you are!" He ruffled Mokuba's hair, as Mokuba grew madder and madder.  
  
"I'm not little!" yelled Mokuba. Chuma didn't listen.  
  
"So. . . What are you doing here in Egypt?" asked Chuma.  
  
"None of your business," stated Kaiba.  
  
"Oh I get it, you're on vacation with your son, aren't you?!" exclaimed Chike. Kaiba fumed.  
  
"My _son_? He is my--" Kaiba said, ready to strangle them.  
  
"Whoa! Look at the time! I guess it's time to go!" Chuma said, sprinting away.  
  
"He's right; Nice meeting you! Hope we see you again!" Chike said, running with his brother.  
  
Kaiba stood there shaking, his hands curled into fists. Mokuba was dazed, shaking his head. And without speaking, Mokuba and Kaiba quickly grabbed their things and walked the other direction, not realizing that their necks were bare.  
  
A and Sadiki were walking down the Egyptian filled streets, speaking quietly to each other. Their heads were down low; their conversation was quiet and serious. Sadiki clasped his hands behind him, as A gave him the report of their 'sales'.  
  
". . . So it seems like the 'locals' aren't really into the whole chip idea. Sadiki, we didn't sell one stinkin' chip in the past week. Our other merchandise is fine; they sold faster than lemonade on a hot day. But what are we gonna do with boxfuls of chips?" A whispered, her black ponytail swinging behind her.  
  
"I don't know. I thought that some people would at least be interested to use it as firewood or something. Man, all that work for nothing," Sadiki muttered, moving his brown bangs out of his eyes.  
  
"And what's worse is that Kaiba character is here. Word on the street is that he's thinking about joining the tournament," A said.  
  
"What's so bad about that?"  
  
"Sadiki, don't you remember? _We_ are invited to that tournament."  
  
"How many times did I tell you that we're not going?"  
  
"Why not? Why are you suddenly afraid of a little tour--" A started, until two boys knocked into them.  
  
"What the--? Chike, Chuma? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on watch for Seto Kaiba!" Sadiki said angrily, helping A up to her feet.  
  
"We watched," Chuma said.  
  
"We saw," Chike followed.  
  
"We played," Chuma chuckled.  
  
"We stole, what's more to say?" Chike said, holding up Mokuba's Duel Monsters locket as Chuma held up Kaiba's locket.  
  
Chuma smiled, saying, "We swiped them off their necks when we bumped into them. They didn't even notice!"  
  
A buried her face in her hands as Sadiki glared at them, saying, "He's going to find out that you stole them, you idiots! And knowing you, I bet you told him your names, where you live, and practically your whole identity!" The twins stood there, shocked.  
  
"Of course not Sadiki! We're not so dumb that we'd--" Chike started, slowly realizing what they did. "Dang."  
  
"Double dang," muttered Chuma, scratching his head. Groaning, Sadiki grabbed the twins by the collars, and dragged them toward the port where their boat was anchored. A sighed and shook her head, running after them.  
  
:: Japan ::  
  
Yugi stared hard at the handkerchief in his hand. He fingered it lightly, thinking that if he didn't treat it carefully enough, it would shatter into tiny pieces. Carefully holding up the corner with the insignia, he wondered what was that nagging feeling in his head. Sighing, he fell on top of his bed, holding the cloth high in the air.  
  
_'What are you doing Yugi?'_ asked Yami. Yugi jumped, dropping the handkerchief beside him.  
  
"Yami! You're out of your soul room? Are you okay? I was wondering what was going on." Said Yugi, staring at him.  
  
_'I'm fine, Yugi. I've just been. . . Thinking. But the question is, are you okay? I felt a disturbance in your mind.'_  
  
"Well, I was just wondering about Aura's grave, that's all. I mean, after all this time, who would have done this?"  
  
_'It may be that her grave was randomly chosen,'_ Yami murmured, standing beside Yugi.  
  
Yugi shook his head, saying, "That's not it. It seemed as if the person was. . . searching for something. Something inside the grave. But what?"  
  
_'Have you any clues? Did you find anything there?' _suggested Yami.  
  
"Only this. It does have this little sign on the bottom, and it looks familiar, but I don't know how it does." Yugi held out the piece of cloth, as Yami stared at it closely.  
  
_ 'Hmm. . . That sign, it has a small bird on it, correct?'_  
  
"Yeah, so what?" Yugi asked, leaning towards his Yami.  
  
_'Well, it may be that the bird stands for--'_ Yami started. Suddenly the phone rang, as they each stared at the phone beside them.  
  
"I'll get it Grandpa!" yelled out Yugi, "This will only be a minute," Yugi reassured, taking the phone and turning it on.  
  
"Hello? Who is this? Oh. . . sorry, I wasn't expecting this call until—Yes, I remember. . . Uh-huh. . . Yeah," Yugi said, as Yami stared at him.  
  
Suddenly Yugi's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
To Be Continued. . .  
  
Oooo, a cliffy. Sorry, I was in the mood for one, after I finished reading The Subtle Knife. I can't believe it ended on me like that, the monster. . . ::grumbles:: Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	6. July 13

Things Unseen; Sequel to Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: I want to own YGO. . . But I can't. Dang.

Chapter 6: July 13

Yugi stared lazily out the airplane window as Joey, Tea, Tristan and Ryou sat beside him, suffering severely from air sickness. He had his head in his hands with bags under his eyes, fingering the chain on his Puzzle.

Of course, there is a reason for everything. Because just a day before, a single phone call had changed Yugi's entire schedule.

:: Yesterday ::

"AH! I've got to get ready!!" Yugi screamed, digging through his closet and piling mountains of clothes into a suitcase. Yami watched amusingly as his Hikari went back and forth in the room. Solomon, hearing the news already, shook his head as he went to the front to sweep some more.

"I can't believe that they changed the schedule! They said that they'll pick us up on July 13, at 3:30 in the afternoon, and drive us to the boat! But nooo, they changed it! Instead, they'll pick us up today, July 12, in two hours and drive us to the _airport_. Seriously!" Yugi complained while he stuffed in a few books as well.

_'Amusing how the human mind works,' _chuckled Yami, as Yugi stopped to stare at him annoyingly. Running to the bathroom, he grabbed his toothbrush and other objects and dropped it inside a bag, quickly throwing the bag inside the suitcase.

"Oh my god! I forgot to call the others!" Yugi screamed, running to the phone.

"Already did Yugi!" Solomon called out from the front. Yugi sighed and continued to work. After many runs and constant throwing, Yugi was done, but felt like he was missing something.

"I know I'm missing something," Yugi started, absentmindedly putting the handkerchief in his pocket, "But what?" Going to his desk he, once more, absentmindedly placed a velvet drawstring bag inside the suitcase.

_'Ahem,'_ Yami started, '_You may need your deck and invitation.'_

"Oh. . . Right," Yugi said sheepishly, quickly placing the deck and invitation inside his belt pocket as he put on his jacket. Sighing once more, he fell atop his bed, patting his suitcase. Looking to the clock, he saw that there was more than half an hour left until he was picked up. He sat up annoyingly, staring at Yami.

"Why the heck did I work so hard?" Yugi muttered, as Yami laughed silently.

:: ::

Now it was July 13, and they were on a non-stop trip to Egypt, taking at least, as Joey thinks, millions of years to get there. They were all cranky and tired, not able to sleep because of Joey talking in his sleep about 'A monkey stealing his wallet'. Joey was sleeping once more, now saying that the same monkey stole his pizza, and that he wants it back.

A vein popped in Tristan's forehead as he threw his pillow at Joey's head. "Shut up man," he complained.

"Monkey's messin' with my do," Joey muttered, snuggling up to his airplane blanket. Tristan was on the verge of strangling him.

"I don't know them, they just followed me to school one day. . ." Tea said, as Ryou and Yugi started flinging peanuts at each other.

Ryou sighed, as peanuts landed on his white hair. "How long until we're there?"

A flight attendant passed by, saying, "We'll be there in three hours." The three groaned, as they eyed Joey annoyingly.

"I'm not willing to hear Joey rant about the monkey for one more minute. Someone hand me a knife, I need to commit seppuku," Tristan muttered, showing killing motions to himself. Instead, Yugi just gave him music to listen to, which quieted Tristan's complaints, for a while at least.

"Heh heh. . . Take that rich boy. . ." Joey muttered, smiling and rolling over to one side.

:: Egypt ::

Sadiki, A, Adio, Zuka, Badru, Chike, and Chuma were all crowded around the lockets, staring at the contents that were in it. Inside the lockets, they found two pictures and a duel monster card, Wingweaver. Badru leaned forward to look, but Adio pulled him back easily, eyeing him angrily.

"Well," Sadiki announced, "We have no use for these. Might as well throw it out, right?" Everyone but A nodded. Sadiki glared at Chike and Chuma who smiled nervously. Sadiki took the lockets, pictures and duel card and was about to fling out to the river, until A stopped his hand.

"Wait," A said, grabbing his hand in midair, "I. . . I don't think you should throw it out." Sadiki raised his eyebrows as the crew walked forward to her.

"Why not?" Badru asked.

"We have no use for it," Zuka supported, scratching his hair.

A shrugged, saying, "I dunno, it just seems. . . Like that these would be really important to those two. I mean, there's a picture of each other inside their lockets."

"Either that, or they really like looking at themselves," Adio said, the twins nodding their approval.

"What happens if they want it back? We already stole something from them, why this too? Besides," A started, "I would be angry if someone stole a locket from me. I say we give it back."

Sadiki narrowed his eyes, saying, "And how can we do that?" She shrugged.

"We can find out later," she said. He glared at her angrily. She smiled back. Sadiki took one look at her, sighed, and tossed the items at the table.

A grinned, and said, "Not such a tough guy after all. Now get ready for the Tournament, it's starting today." As Sadiki was about to protest, she put her finger to her lips and said, "Hush," and walked across the deck to her room, shutting the door quietly. He sighed and turned toward the men, their eyes glittering with amusement.

"_Shi-pow_," Chike said, making a flicking movement like a lion tamer with a whip, "You are whipped, boy!"

"Like whipped cream on a sundae," Chuma finished, grinning. Sadiki's golden eyes widened, staring at his crew mates. Bowing, the twins dashed away, singing love songs.

"What in the world are you guys talking about?" Sadiki asked, suddenly feeling very nervous. Adio, Badru and Zuka smiled and walked up to him, their arms around his shoulders. Surrounded by the men, Sadiki stared at them with suspicion and tried to walk away, but was unable.

"Aw, isn't that cute? He doesn't know," Badru exclaimed, ruffling Sadiki's hair.

"Someday you'll figure it out, mate," Zuka said, winking at him.

"Until that time, we'll just tease you about it," Adio whispered in his ear, as they broke away from their leader to do their own tasks. Sadiki looked at each of them separately, trying to see some clue of what they were talking about. Of course, being masters of the bending truth, they just smiled at him.

"Sadiki!"

Sadiki turned and saw A dressed in a long tan dress with a tan cloak over her shoulders and a cloth covering her face so only her green eyes, one blind, were showing. She was tapping her foot on the hard deck of the boat, her arms crossed.

Glaring at him, she said through the cloth, "I told you to get ready. We have to get there in time, okay? We're not going to stay in Cairo forever. I heard from the streets that the tournament is gonna be moved. . . And we have 30 minutes left. So come on! Lets go; no time to waste!" Pushing him foreword, she quickly grabbed the nearest cloak and placed it on his shoulders, Sadiki moving uncomfortably. A also took an Egyptian hat and slapped it down on his head.

"You're gonna need this," A assumed, giving Sadiki his invitation and deck, as Sadiki saw that she was carrying her deck and invitation as well.

"Don't we need clothes?" Sadiki asked, as A fastened the clasp of his cloak, "And do I have to wear this? I feel like a fool."

"We're Fellahin Egyptians; get used to it. And as for your first question, we're gonna stay on the boat, not in a hotel, 'cause one of the guests might recognize us," A replied, standing back to take a look. "Good."

Sadiki fumbled with his hat annoyingly. He glared at her and pointed to the hat, as she nodded her no-buts nod. Sighing, he said, "Alright, lets go." Walking away, he saw that A wasn't following. "Coming?"

A didn't answer as she quickly grabbed the lockets and placed the pictures inside of them, and, hesitating for a moment, placed the folded up duel monster card in her deck. _'For some reason, I want to keep this.'_

"Coming! Bye you guys!" A yelled, running quickly to Sadiki's side.

:: Cairo Airport ::

Yugi, Joey, Ryou, Tea and Tristan stumbled out of the airport and outside to the busy streets of Cairo, gasping for air. As Yugi looked at his watch, he saw that it was 3:20 pm, and as he stared at his surroundings, saw that over a hundred people were waiting outside the airport. All of them looked at their watches and grumbled, tired of waiting.

"Well, I guess this is where we meet _Apis Enari_, isn't it Yug'?" suggested Joey, carrying his suitcase.

"I guess, but where can he be? It's kinda funny to see that the person holding the tournament isn't early for it." Yugi said, chuckling.

"Well, funny or not, I'd like to go to that hotel room right about now," said Tea, carrying two suitcases, as everyone else had one suitcase. They stared at her unbelievingly.

"What time is it now Yugi?" asked Ryou, dropping his green suitcase to the ground. He checked his watch.

"3:22," Yugi said simply, as Tristan groaned loudly. Yugi looked around again, to see people from all around the world were coming to this tournament. _'Whoa,' _thought Yugi, _'This tournament is the real thing.'_ He was about to walk away and look around some more until he heard footsteps stop behind him.

"Well, well. Look what we have here," said a voice. Yugi looked up and gasped in surprise.

Kaiba was standing behind the five friends, staring at them closely. Mokuba stood behind him, waving his hand at them. Kaiba had his arms crossed, looking down at Yugi.

"Kaiba! Mokuba! I didn't know you were going to this tournament! In fact, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be working on your new game in America?" Yugi asked, cocking his head a little.

"Apparently, I had a little. . . _problem_. . . Something that couldn't be ignored. So I had to come to Egypt to fix it, and since I was here. . . Well, you know the rest." Kaiba said slyly, "I hope we get to duel again Yugi."

"Hey! What about me?!" Joey yelled, stomping his foot. Kaiba eyed him.

"What about you?" Kaiba asked. Joey fumed, as Tristan and Ryou held him back.

"Well, it was nice to see you guys again. Good luck in the tournament," Yugi said, giving a thumb up. Kaiba nodded, obviously growing a little respect for him, and walked away, while Mokuba quickly followed.

As Kaiba and Mokuba walked away, Mokuba saw that two objects fell in front of them, glinting in the sunlight. Pushing through the crowd, Mokuba bent down and picked them up, to see that it was their lockets.

"Seto! Our lockets!" Mokuba exclaimed, showing it to him, "How. . . How did we lose it? I didn't know we left them here." Kaiba took his, and stared at it closely.

"Strange, I didn't know that we lost them. And we never been to this part of Cairo. . . How did it get here?" Kaiba thought, eyebrows furrowed.

As Mokuba opened his locket and fumbled with it, he gasped and said, "It's gone!"

Kaiba looked at him suspiciously. "What's gone? The picture is still there."

Mokuba looked up and said quickly, "Oh yeah, it's still here. Ha ha, just kidding. . . Err. . . Come on, we should go up front!" _'What happened to the card?'_ he thought, as he placed the locket around his neck. Kaiba glanced at him, and placed his locket around his neck also. And so they continued to walk forward through the crowd.

Behind them Sadiki and A walked the opposite direction of the brothers, saying, "See? It's that simple. You know, for a genius, he isn't that observant is he?"

"I don't know," Sadiki muttered, touching his hat once more, "Something tells me that he knows that Chike and Chuma done it."

"Oh stop worrying," A reassured, walking through a clump of people, "Everything will be just--" That was when a girl with short brown hair bumped into her. A stopped and turned around, her eyes showing annoyance.

"Oh, err sorry," the girl said, blushing a little.

A clicked her tongue, saying, "Tsh, whatever. It's fine." The cloth covering her lower face moved a little as she said it.

"Nice going Tea," a boy with pointy brown hair said, "Just a few minutes in Egypt and already you mess up." The girl named Tea muttered under breath.

"Sorry about that," another boy said, who had a mass of white hair, "We just got here. Jet lag, you know."

"Ryou's right about that. Anyway, don't mind Tea, she's just tired. I'm Joey, and these are my friends, Tea obviously, Tristan, and Ryou. We just came from Japan," Joey said, pointing at each of them as their names were said, "But only me and another friend of mine are gonna duel. What's your name?"

"My name is Eshe," A said, quickly thinking up of a name.

"And I am Kaphiri," Sadiki said, also thinking up a name.

"We each are going to duel, and we come from Egypt. So Japan, eh? Nice place, Japan. Kaphiri here visited Japan once, he knows how to speak it too." A said, pointing at him.

"Koneichiwa," Sadiki said, waving his hand. Ryou smiled and clapped his hands in approval as Tea laughed lightly.

"You look familiar. . ." said Tristan, eyeing A closely, "Have we met before?"

"I'd remember a face," A replied, "Well, we must take our leave. Good luck, _Joey_." Sadiki and A waved their hands, and quickly walked away.

"Dang tourists," muttered Sadiki, as A sighed loudly.

As they walked away, Yugi suddenly appeared, who went to the bathroom before. Walking through the crowds, he saw that his friends were talking to two people. Raising an eyebrow, he continued walking towards them.

"Hey Yug'. We were just talking to some cool Egyptians a few minutes ago." Tea said, as Yugi stood beside him.

"Oh really? What were their names?" Yugi asked.

"One was girl named Eshe, the other was a guy named Kaphiri. They're around our age, I think. Tristan said that one of them looked fam--" Joey started, until a hushed silence surrounded them. As they looked around, they saw that everyone was staring in one direction.

A black limo pulled up on the road. The driver stepped out and walked down the car and opened the door, and everyone saw a man around the early 20's step out of the limo. He had a nice build, and was dressed in a dark blue suit, his light brown hair wild yet neat. His gold eyes glittered with superiority.

That was when he clapped his hands and said aloud, "Welcome to the Osiris Tournament!"

To Be Continued. . .

In the next chapter the tournament begins, yay. Just for your info, seppuku is a Japanese ritual where you have to kill yourself if your master dies, so you can continue the honor of your master's family. The Fellahin are the closest descendants of the Ancient Egyptians, sometimes considered to be 'True Egyptians' (no Egyptian today is a true Egyptian. NONE). They also pretty much dress and act like the Ancient Egyptian peasants, and most of them live in small villages. And obviously, Koneichiwa means hello in Japanese.


	7. Suspicious Acts

Things Unseen; Sequel of Millennium Ritual

a/n: MetalArmor (sorry, I shortened your named) asked if Mokuba's birthday passed. It did, it was on July 7. Poor Mokey. For some reason, Mokey is just forgetting it. Sry that this was late, my bad. Writer's block, amazingly.

Disclaimer: ........... Fudge stick.

Chapter 7: Suspicious Acts

Apis Enari stood before the duelists with a big smile, his arms outstretched. But no one responded to his announcement. They all stood gaping at the young man, surprised at how young the man was. As you can see, people were expecting someone, let's say, _older_. But life has many surprises.

_'So that's Apis Enari.' _Thought Yugi, staring at the man, _'How strange. Not how I pictured him.' _At that moment, he thought about the dream he had, and how the man seemed familiar.

Quite a few feet away, Sadiki and A were standing in the crowd, staring at the man. Sadiki gritted his teeth, his hands curling into knuckles. A noticed this and stared at him with suspicion and worry. As A turned to look at Apis Enari once more, she felt a chill trickle down her spine. She didn't know why, but somehow she had a bad feeling.

Kaiba stood in front of the crowd with arms crossed, Mokuba staring at Apis Enari with much surprise. As Mokuba turned to glance at his brother, he saw that Kaiba was not impressed with the man. Kaiba turned his eyes at Mokuba, not moving his head. Jumping a little, Mokuba looked down to the ground, clutching the suitcase.

"Ah, well I hope all of you had a very good trip here. Sorry for the little schedule change; we were a bit behind. It's wonderful that all of you were able to come," Enari said, smiling widely, "But now on to business. You all have received my invitation a few days before, correct? Good, then you will know that the prize of this tournament will be the golden statue of Osiris, worth millions and millions of dollars. And, like any other tournament, you shall receive the title of the greatest duelist in the world, which, I believe, is more valuable than a statue." The crowd chattered in response.

"But those are only for if you beat everyone here, the people you see before you. After a victor is chosen, that winner shall duel against me. Beat me, and I'll send you to a place where all your dreams would come true, a place that would remain a mystery." Enari continued, chuckling to himself.

Sadiki looked at him once more, his eyebrows slanted down. _'The liar,' _he thought.

_'Remain a mystery?' _Yugi thought, stroking his chin, _'I wonder what it is.' _

"Anyway, that's enough for the prizes, now time for the tournament itself," Enari grinned, as he held up a duel disk attached to his wrist, "Now as you see, we shall play with the duel disks that were created from Seto Kaiba himself, standing in the crowd in front of me. But, we've made a slight improvement." Pressing a button on the duel disk, a puzzle piece ejected itself from an indent in the disk. "To enter the finals, which is held at an estate somewhere in the outskirts of Luxor, you must collect 15 puzzle pieces. You earn one puzzle piece by each duel you win. Once you do, you must piece it together and there you will find an answer to a riddle that will be told to all who approach the estate, which is written in Egyptian. As for proof, you must show the puzzle to the guards."

"But there is a catch; Some puzzle pieces fit in the place of others, and you won't be able to tell if it's in the right place. How do you tell if it's right then, you ask? You don't. You'll just have to trust your intuition. The loser of a duel must hand over their rarest magic/trap card to the winner. Understand? Oh, and another thing. If you lose a single duel, you will be disqualified, no matter how many puzzle pieces you've collected." The crowd gasped in surprise.

"If you lose just ONE duel you'll be disqualified? That's not fair!" Joey yelled out angrily, as Yugi showed no emotion toward the rule.

"Interesting rule. This will be fun," Kaiba said, grinning.

"Wait, wait," he continued, "After that, the loser does not have to leave. My men shall escort the losers to the place of the finals, where they can watch from the stands. See? It's not so bad. . ." Enari shrugged, his blue suit making a wrinkle.

_'My god, he just can't stop,'_ Sadiki thought, as A stared at him uncomfortably.

"Oh, and the tournament will be held in the Cairo Opera House. So with that said, please file into the buses in front of you, for the buses will take you to your rooms in the hotel. Due to some technical difficulties, the tournament will begin tomorrow. When you reach the Opera House tomorrow, which is about, an hour drive, show your invitations to the gentlemen at the entrance so you can actually come in. Once you step into the building, the tournament shall begin. Dueling time begins from noon to 7 o' clock." Without saying good-bye, Enari stepped inside the limo once more, as the chauffer closed the door behind him. She smiled to the crowd and waved her hand. Going back to the limo, she started the car and drove away.

Shrugging, Yugi and his friends followed the crowds into the buses, as Kaiba and Mokuba were the first to arrive inside. Snorting, Sadiki stepped inside. Raising her eyebrows, A quickly took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Zuka? Yeah, it's me. Listen, there's a change of plans. Tournament is gonna be held in Cairo Opera House. . . Yeah, I know I was wrong; big deal. . . Chike and Chuma want to see their cousin? Whatever," A continued with exasperation, "Just don't let them get into trouble like last time. Tell Adio to pack our clothes and bring them here; something tells me that we'll have to stay in the hotel. Have Badru pack a few pocket knives in too. Oh, and Zuka? Can you look something up for me? I. . . I want to see something. . ."

As A continued talking while walking in the bus, the limo was stopped in front of it, the window rolled down. Apis Enari watched A closely, until she finally was in the bus and it started driving away. Signaling to the driver, she followed the bus to the hotels.

:: Hotel ::

"Man! Look at the size of this bed!" Joey exclaimed, flopping down onto the plush king sized mattress. With a big smile, he hugged the pillow and murmured, "Hmm, swan feathers. . ."

The five friends were in Joey's hotel room, enjoying the accommodations that they had. Tea made herself comfortable in her bed as Joey and Tristan were to share a bed for the entire trip there. Ryou looked inside the refrigerator, hungry for food not on from an airplane. Yugi, however, sat down in the corner of the room, his figure bent.

"I think you have more food than us," Ryou complained, opening a pop can and drinking its cold liquid.

"Well duh, there are three people sharing a room. And why did I have to share a room with you guys? Why couldn't I share one with Yugi?" Tea pouted, lying down on her bed, "How dull. I'm never gonna get to sleep."

"Aw, come on Tea, we're not so bad," Tristan said, munching on a bag of chips as the crumbs fell to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll have fun. Besides, we didn't think it would be a very good idea for two duelists to be in the same room, you know, for competition." Ryou said, as Joey jumped up in surprise.

"Hey! Me and Yug' ain't competitive! We always cooperate with each other and this time there's no strings attached, which will make it easier, right Yugi?" Joey reassured, turning toward him. "Yugi?"

He didn't answer as continued to stare hard at the velvet drawstring bag containing the pieces of the Orb and handkerchief found at Aura's grave. His brows were furrowed; his lips were curled in a frown. Everyone was quiet as they slowly walked up to his side.

"Yugi? Yugi, hello? Just asked you a question here. . . Are ya listening? Yugi! Hey, what's in that bag of yours?" asked Joey as he reached for the velvet bag. A spark flashed through Yugi's eyes as he quickly snatched the bag away from his grasp. They all jumped in surprise.

"Don't touch it!" Yugi yelled, rising from his chair and backing away from them. His eyes darting back and forth, he quickly grabbed the handkerchief from the table and backed away once more. His friends stood across from him, shocked. He felt jittery; afraid. "Uh. . . It's just that this is really, really important to me. I don't really want you to see it because. . . because. . . uh. . ."

"Because what?" Tea asked, as they stared at him with a disguised sadness. Yugi's eyes widened in surprise at the thought. Immediately he felt guilty. He felt like he needed time to think, alone.

"I. . . I need to go," Yugi answered after a moment. Without saying another word, he grabbed his jacket and walked away, closing the door shut behind him. Sighing, he put his hands in his pockets and walked toward the entrance of the hotel and onto the streets, the drawstring bag swinging at his belt.

:: Later ::

"Man, what was up with Yugi today?" Tristan asked as he and Ryou walked down the hall toward the ice machine. It was after the incident with Yugi when Ryou and Tristan decided to go out the hall and talk a little, and their excuse for walking out was to get more ice. Tea and Joey stayed behind, pondering on what happened.

Ryou held the bucket tight as he replied, "I dunno. Could he possibly have stress from the tournament?" Tristan shook his head as they turned the corner to the left. As they walked, two maids passed them, pushing along a cart filled with cleaning materials. They walked through a glass hallway, seeing a lush courtyard with people on benches, reading.

"You know, it seems like that Yugi was bothered ever since we got here," Tristan thought aloud as Ryou nodded in approval.

"What do you think is bothering him then?" Ryou asked, walking into another hall.

"Do you think it's because of. . . you know. . . last year?" Tristan answered.

Ryou was silent before replying, "Do you really think so? I mean, I thought he'd forget it by now."

"Well, if we haven't, he definitely didn't forget," Tristan said.

"I hope he's not blaming himself for everything," Ryou sighed, wiping his brow.

"Nah, he wouldn't. . . Would he?" Tristan then stopped in the middle of the hall, scratching his head in frustration. For a moment they stood like that, just thinking silent thoughts to themselves. When Ryou looked down, he realized that the bucket he was carrying had no ice.

"Oh gosh, we've been talking for so long that we skipped the ice machine by. . . three halls," calculated Ryou, looking at the signs written in Arabic and in English. Tristan slapped his head in realization.

"Dang it, that was the whole reason we went out in the first place! Ugh, come on, lets go to the nearest ice machine and run down to the room." Tristan said, running down the hall with Ryou following. They went left and right, following the signs on the wall. After a minute or so, they found the room with the machine and quickly pushed the button to pour the ice in. Tristan urged Ryou to go faster for his stomach was growling, a sure sign of hunger.

"Done," Ryou said, heaving the bucket out of the machine, "Now, let's go before Joey eats everything in the refrigerator." Tristan laughed as they turned around, but the moment they had set eyes on the room behind them, Tristan backed into machine with wide eyes. Ryou, who wondered what was wrong, was soon pushed back to the machine himself by Tristan.

Three women were standing by a door across the hall, just a few feet from the very room they were in. Sweat started forming at Tristan's forehead as he remembered who the women were.

_'It's them,' _Tristan thought, _'the ones who killed the Healer a year ago.' _When he, Joey, Tea, and others were in the tombkeeper's tomb, the Healer was found dead, laying before three women, the same women he was seeing now. _'I. . . I thought we've seen the last of them. . .' _The women in the middle knocked the door.

"Tristan, what is going on?" Ryou whispered. Tristan didn't answer; all he did was point in front of him. As Ryou turned, he gasped as he saw the Egyptian man they met before named Kaphiri opened the door.

He glared at them angrily as he said, "Fates. What do you want this time?"

The voice that answered him seemed to come out of nowhere as one answered,

[Sadiki, we wish to see the Little One.]

[Is Little One harmed?] Another asked.

Sadiki continued to glare at them, no one noticing the two boys behind them.

"Why are you here?" Sadiki asked once more. He did not answer their question.

[We felt a disturbance in the balance.] A woman said.

[Little One is distressed.] Said the other, their ghost-like eyes staring at him. Tristan and Ryou stood as still as the night, listening to every word.

[Have you caused Little One's distress?] Sadiki raised his eyebrow in surprise, but his face remained closed. He shook his head swiftly, his small brown ponytail swinging.

"Listen, I got it, alright? Nothing is wrong; everything is according to plan. **Little One **isn't _distressed _at all, okay? Just leave me alone." Sadiki ordered, closing the door. But as he tried to close the door, it would not budge from its spot. The women pushed their hands against the door, obviously stronger than him.

[We have seen that Pharaoh had come again.]

[The Priest had arrived also.]

[Little One knows of their beings.]

[We must eliminate them permanently.] Sadiki widened his eyes at the thought.

"What? Eliminate? You can't! Not again! I'm not gonna stand by and watch it happen! And this time, if you do it, you'll be caught, because Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba are well known to the world! You can't just kill someone and think that will make the problem go away!" Sadiki protested, his golden eyes filled with anger. Ryou and Tristan jumped as Yugi's name was mentioned.

[As you wish.] They answered.

[But they shall be a problem.]

[Continue to protect Little One.]

[The time has almost come.]

[Little One shall be needed soon.]

[Or the Necromancer shall succeed.]

Sadiki flinched a little as the word _necromancer _was spoken. Sighing, he then asked wearily, "But what happens if the Necromancer _does_ succeed?" The women didn't answer. Tristan and Ryou stood still as their hearts were beating fast.

[Do not fail us.]

As they said the last sentence, in the blink of an eye they disappeared, with only Sadiki standing in the hall. Quickly Sadiki looked this way and that, looking for anyone who happened to listen. Ryou and Tristan were huddled in the corner by the entrance, unseen by him. It was quiet for a moment, until Sadiki cursed in his breath in Egyptian.

"Oi, Sadiki, what's wrong? It's seems like you've just talked to Death himself," A voice said, coming from the other side of the hall. Sadiki looked to his right, which made Tristan and Ryou unable to see who it was. Sadiki muttered a hello as the voice turned toward him fully, blocking their view. Ryou saw that it was a woman dressed in a tan dress and cloak, her long black hair resting on her shoulders. They realized that it was the same woman they met before, who was Eshe, which probably isn't her name, Tristan realized.

"Cat caught your tounge? Well fine, be that way. I'm gonna walk around, alright? Just don't do anything out of the ordinary. Oh, and Adio is gonna come in an hour or so with our clothes and stuff. Make sure and meet him at the front. . . Are you okay?" He didn't answer as she bent down to look at his lowered face.

"Well, if you really don't want to talk about it. . . I guess I'll leave you to your thoughts. Bye, see you soon." Giving him a wave, she walked away, humming a song and skipping a little. There was something familiar in the voice, but Tristan couldn't put his finger on it. It was quiet, yet demanding, like a voice he heard a long time ago.

After she left, Sadiki nearly collapsed against the door, banging his head on it. "God help me," he said, walking into his room and slamming the door shut.

The moment he closed the door Ryou and Tristan jumped to their feet and ran to their hall, leaving the bucket of melting ice in the room.

To Be Continued. . .

I know, I know, where's the action and adventure!? I'm trying to get to that. For now, I'm just making sure everything is all set, that's all. Hopefully it won't take me as long as seven chapters.


	8. One By One

Things Unseen; Sequel of Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: ........... Cool Aid

Chapter 8: One By One

Yugi sighed heavily as he walked down the streets with a ducked head, his hands in his pockets. The velvet drawstring bag swung at his belt with every step he took as people walking by bumped into his shoulder. But he didn't care, all he wanted to do was go home.

_'Maybe it was a bad idea to come here,' _Yugi thought, walking into an alleyway. _'Egypt just gives bad memories. And now Yami is staying in his soul room, refusing to come out. What's wrong with me? Why is this happening? Is it because of the pieces of the Orb?' _Yugi stopped and stared down at the drawstring bag angrily, as if the bag was mocking him.

"Argh! I can't take this anymore!!" Yugi screamed, raising his head in the air in frustration. No one listened, but few people turned their heads at him, interested in what he was trying to say. Then after a moment they walked away, Yugi breathing hard.

"It is not wise to raise your voice in such crowded places, Yugi. Especially in Egypt," a voice said to him. Yugi stood still, remembering that voice. With a big smile, he turned around to face Ishizu Ishtar.

"Ishizu! I haven't seen you in a long time! How are you?" Yugi asked, already forgetting what he was thinking about. Ishizu smiled a small smile.

"I am well, Yugi. Is the same with you and Yami?" Ishizu replied as they walked toward a nearby stall.

"Well, I'm alright. But I'm not sure about Yami. He's been staying in his soul room for awhile, and I'm wondering what's wrong." Said Yugi sadly, sighing a little. She nodded in response, busying herself in buying dates.

Paying two Egyptian pounds to the merchant, Ishizu turned toward Yugi and said, "I believe that he worries over the past. But as for myself, I worry about the future."

"Why is that?" Yugi asked, eyebrows raised.

"This tournament, the Osiris Tournament, it makes me wonder. . . Many things has happened this last year, and it was a surprise to me that an event of this magnitude would appear so, suddenly." Ishizu paused, looking at the drawstring bag at his hip. "Just like it makes me wonder why you still keep the pieces of the Millennium Orb."

Yugi looked at her with a stunned face. "How. . . How do you know?"

"Call it a sixth sense," Ishizu said, "but Yugi, I truly am frightened. I do not want the events of the year before to repeat itself. Do you not realize that we had never caught the person responsible for the events? We caught his minions, but no one else. For all we know, he may be lurking among us at this very moment."

Yugi was silent for a moment, realizing that what she said was indeed true. "So what you're saying is. . ."

"That the person responsible for the year before may be in this tournament," Ishizu finished, a worried look spreading across her face, "Which is why I want you to leave." Yugi's eyes widened.

"Leave? Why? If there is anything going on, I want to be there to help!" Yugi exclaimed. She shook her head at him.

"No, I will not tolerate that. Yugi, I do not wish to have more people hurt. I can't bear to see someone die again. You understand, don't you?" Ishizu asked, a pleading look in her blue eyes. Yugi turned away, knowing what she meant.

"The tournament. . . It isn't the only reason why I'm here," Yugi said slowly, digging in his pocket and taking out the handkerchief, "In Japan, days before, when me and the gang went to go to visit Aura's grave. . . It, it was dug up." Ishizu gasped in surprise and shock. "I know, but that's not all. Whoever done it torn her coffin apart and crushed the white roses. Her father was there and was the one who reported it, but the strange thing was that I found this at her grave as well." As he spoke the words, he held out the handkerchief toward Ishizu as she took it delicately in her hands. She stared at the insignia on the corner of the cloth.

"This symbol, I know where it comes from," Ishizu said, wide eyed.

"From who? Who does it belong to?!" Yugi asked desperately.

"This, this symbol is the crest of--" she started. Suddenly a yell was heard behind them as Yugi and Ishizu both turned their heads toward the commotion.

A man in a Hawaiian shirt was yelling angrily at two black haired boys, chasing them down the market path. The Egyptians moved out of their way, accustomed to events such as these. The two boys, who appeared to be twins, were laughing hard, one grasping a money pouch and the other holding a camera. Yugi and Ishizu, who happened to be in an alleyway, stepped out and saw the two boys turning and running towards them.

The boy laughed out loud and saw Yugi with wide eyes. Before anyone could say "Holy mother of Egypt!" they crashed into Yugi and Ishizu with a thud. The crowd was used to this and quickly went back to their business, the tourist running into another alleyway.

The boys shook their heads with a groan. They sat up, and one of them said, "Oh nice going Chike, that dang tourist caught us!"

"Hmm, well whada know, he was a _smart_ tourist. Don't see that a lot," answered Chike thoughtfully, looking through the camera with an eye closed. "Aw man! This camera sucks! Chuma! Why'd the heck you get this piece of crap?!"

"Hey, don't blame it on me! You were the one who stole it! At least I was more resourceful," Chuma smirked, tossing the money pouch in the air.

"Umm, excuse me, but, if you won't mind would you GET OFF OF ME?!" Yugi yelled out, making Chuma jump in the air and look down.

"Oh, I'm sitting on a person. I was wondering why the landing was so soft," Chuma stated, standing up and helping Yugi up also. Chike did the same with Ishizu, helping her up to her feet.

"Heh, our bad. Sorry that we sat on you," Chike apologized.

"And crashed into you," Chuma followed.

"And ruined your hair," Chike said, patting Yugi's tri-colored hair.

"We were just trying to get away from that dude," Chuma said.

Yugi stared at the pouch in his hand. "Err, didn't that belong to the man?"

Chike looked at the money pouch and camera and exclaimed, "Son of a gun, you're right! This really did belong to that guy! I had absolutely NO idea, we should return it to him! My word, unbelievable. . . Eh, who am I kidding? Yeah, we stole it." Chuma nodded and shrugged at the wide mouth Yugi.

"And why would you do that?" Ishizu asked with disdain.

Chuma made a quiet sob and replied, "W-we _had _to do it. . . You see, our family is starving, and we have no money. . ."

"No jobs," Chike wailed.

"NOTHING! So what is Egyptians like us suppose to do? Stay in the alleyways and rot? No! We stood up for our family and therefore. . . Eh, we stole it because we wanted to." Admitted Chuma sarcastically.

"These people are too smart for us Chuma," Chike said with Chuma nodding.

"Too smart," Chuma said, wiping an imaginary tear.

"And for this incredulous act we deserve to be hanged!" Chike announced, making flicking movements toward his neck.

"HANGED HE SAYS!" repeated Chuma, falling on Yugi and sobbing passionately on his shoulder. Yugi stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

That was when Chike fell on his knees and grasped Ishizu's legs, sobbing as well. "Forgive us!! Forgive us for what we have done!" Ishizu looked at Yugi disbelievingly, still holding onto the handkerchief. Then the boys separated themselves from Yugi and Ishizu and hugged each other, crying and wailing their hearts out, yelling about sins and stealing and death.

"Oh the horror!" Chike wailed, walking away from them with his brother.

"What will Mother think of us?!" cried out Chuma, sobbing.

"WE DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" they said aloud, sobbing and walking away. Yugi and Ishizu stood there, dumbfounded. Yugi had his share of strange of events, but this was by far the strangest. Yugi shook his head at them, hands on hips. But then he felt something strange, as if something was. . .

Missing.

Yugi looked down and saw that the velvet drawstring bag wasn't there.

"STOP! THIEVES!" Yugi cried out, running towards them. Ishizu, confused as she was, followed him. Chuma looked behind himself to see them running towards them. He looked down at their new found spoils.

"Uh, Chike, I think they found out," Chuma said with a hint of annoyance.

With an exasperated sigh, Chike looked behind and said, "Oh camel dung. . . Run."

Nodding, they both ran as fast as the wind, Yugi and Ishizu following them from afar.

**A **walked out of an iron door and stepped into the alleyway. Turning around, she said aloud, "See ya soon Hassan!" Then, after a few moments, a tall man with sleek silver hair and cerulean eyes stepped out of the door also, waving his hands and making hand movements to her similar to sign language. She laughed at what he did.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll look out for my left side! Make sure Badru and Zuka don't take any weapons and electronics!" she exclaimed as the man nodded in response. With a final wave, he closed the door, going back to his soap operas. **A **chuckled to herself and shook her head, placing her _niqab _back on her head. She yawned aloud and looked toward the sky, seeing that it was close to sunset.

"Ah, well I guess I better head toward the hotel. I wonder if I have enough Egyptian pounds to make it," **A** wondered, looking at her money pouch. "Well, I would if Adio didn't steal it. I swear, that happy giant gets more and more like the twins each day." Shaking her head, she walked toward the opening of the alley.

As she walked out into the street, she saw a vendor a few feet away, selling steamed sweet potatoes. Licking her lips, **A** quickly ran toward the vendor, buying a sweet potato. The man smiled as he handed the vegetable to her. **A** grinned and thanked the man, walking toward a nearby bench and nibbling on her potato.

_'Eh, I can be a little late, can't I? Besides, I don't think Sadiki will mind,'_ **A** thought, popping a piece into her mouth. _'Hmm. . . Delicious.' _She sighed happily and laid her head back, staring into the pastel colored sky. After a few minutes she ate the last of her potato, tossing the garbage to a nearby trash can.

Suddenly a limo pulled in front of her as she sat up straight and stared at the car wearily. A door opened at the front, and the chauffer popped out, wearing a crash helmet and goggles. She grinned as **A **stared at her with weary surprise.

"Hey, **A**! 'Sup?" the girl said, running to the other side and leaning on the car. **A** rubbed her eyes before looking at her once more, realizing who she was.

"Oh, hi Raziya, didn't expect you there. You looking for your cousins?" **A** asked as Raziya sat down beside her. She took off her crash helmet and shook her head, revealing short black hair and big brown eyes.

"Nah, I'm sure Chike and Chuma dun want me when their workin. Just thought I could drive by and say hi, ya know?" Raziya replied, sighing a little.

"So how's your new job?" **A** asked, taking off her veil and looking at the fifteen year old.

"Eh, not bad. Mr. Enari is easy, all I have to do is drive around anyway," Raziya said, scratching her head.

"And your night job?"

"Dang, it gets harder by the day. The museums are gettin' more and more cautious, makes it hard for thieves like me to go through. But no biggy, I can get it." She said, shaking her hand towards her.

"You know you can always call Zuka for help on that. He's pretty good at technology. Same with Badru and Adio, but they tend to use a more, _physical _way. As for Chike and Chuma. . . Well, don't make me go there." **A** suggested, tilting her head a bit. Raziya then eyed her with a sly look, making one of **A**'s eyebrows raise.

"And whada bout Sadiki?" she said, a smirk growing on her face.

"Puh, maybe. He's just the leader after all. Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"You know what I mean. . ." Raziya replied, her face like a fox.

"Don't you have any museums to raid?" she asked, her face showing no emotion.

"What kind of a comeback is that?" Raziya criticized.

"You kids get real annoying. Go on now, go torture someone else for a change," **A** said, pushing her off the bench. She fell with a thud and stared at **A** with annoyance.

"Hey, that was--" Raziya started, until she started seeing a dust cloud a few blocks away. "What's that?" **A** stood up, squinting at the sand in the air. When she saw what it was, she gave out a huge groan, muttering under her breath.

Chike and Chuma were running as fast as their legs can carry them, swinging their arms back and forth. Yugi and Ishizu were behind them, only a foot away from the persistent twins. Chike looked up and saw the limo and his cousin by it.

"Raziya! Start the car! START THE CAR!" he cried out as he just jumped out of Yugi's outstretched hand. Raziya shrugged and put on her helmet, running to the other side of the limo and stepping in. The limo's engine started as the car shivered in the start. Ishizu slowed to a stop, heaving in and out. Yugi continued on however, closer and closer to Chuma. He reached out his hand, so close to the drawstring bag.

**A **glowered at the twins, yelling out, "What did you do this time?!" At this rate, Chike and Chuma were in earshot, and so was Yugi. Just as he was about to grab it, he looked up and saw her. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the sparkling green eyes and the gold and black hair.

Aura?

Yugi slowed to a stop, dazed. He didn't know what to say, all he could think was, _'Aura? Alive? Aura? Here?' _

Chike and Chuma continued running and soon were in **A**'s clutches.

"My god! Even when I'm here you still cause trouble! What did you do now, you idiots?!" she yelled out, glaring daggers at them. They looked at each other as they were caught by her hands, holding their collars tight.

"Maybe being caught by the little dude won't be so bad after all," stated Chike.

"Would be better than facing this monster," agreed Chuma. Together they slapped her hands away and were walking toward the dazed Yugi. **A** smacked her face with her hands in dismay, holding onto her _niqab_.

Suddenly Chike and Chuma ran back, grabbing onto **A**'s arms and tossing her into the limo beside them. She cried out complaints as Chike went in after her and Chuma yelled out, "Drive Rayiza! Drive like you never drove before!!" Then he went in and slammed the door behind him. The second after he went in Raziya started the limo and drove off, almost running into Yugi and Ishizu. Yugi jumped out of the way as Ishizu quickly ran to the side, the limo flying past them.

Raziya stuck her head out the side of the limo and cried out, "Sorry for the inconvenience we'll come back to steal again thank you!" Then the limo disappeared, turning to another street.

That was when Ishizu ran over to Yugi, who was in a crouched position, breathing hard. "Yugi, what's wrong?" she asked. He was silent, heaving in and out.

Yugi turned his head toward her and said, "They stole it. They stole the Orb! And. . . And Aura's alive!"

Up in the air, the Fates looked down upon Yugi and Ishizu with disdain. Then in a blink of an eye, they vanished into thin air.

To Be Continued. . .

Okay, so to clear up a few things. One, I bolded **A**'s name so you guys won't get mixed up. Two, _niqab _is a veil that reveals only the eyes, the thing that **A **wore in this chapter. Three, Raziya will be an important character later on. Four, a few things mentioned before will happen in the next chapter. Oh, and sorry for not updating. I'll try and do it on a regular basis, but with school coming up, I dunno. Review please, tell me what you think.


	9. Show Down

Things Unseen; Sequel of Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: ........... Sushi

Chapter 9: Show Down

Tea and Joey stared at Ryou and Tristan with pure shock.

"A-are you sure?" Tea whispered. Ryou and Tristan nodded at once, their faces serious. They were all in the hotel room, circled around a small table. Tristan stood off to the side, watching the dark night sky. Tea bit her lip; Joey rustled his hair. Ryou sat down on a cushion, staring into the tea's dark liquid.

They just finished explaining what they heard before. How Sadiki, who they knew as Kaphiri, was associated with the women who murdered the Healer a year before. They spoke of this mysterious _Little One_, who seemed to be their most greatest concern. And most importantly, how they planned on murdering Yugi and Kaiba.

"So what you're sayin' is," Joey said, crushing a cookie, "that a bunch of crazy old robed women and a guy with hair like Tarzan is out to kill Yugi and Kaiba. Why?"

"Probably because of this Little One they kept speaking of," Ryou replied, sipping the tea.

"Yeah, but the question is, who is Little One? Why is it such a problem for him to see Yugi and Kaiba?" Tristan asked, tossing his jacket to the bed.

Tea fiddled with her fingers, a look of worry across her face. "You said that Little One was distressed. And that guy, Sadiki, needed to protect him. What do you suppose that means?"

"I bet that Little One is going be used in a purpose of some sort. Whatever it is, they want to make sure that Yugi and Kaiba don't go and ruin it." Ryou answered. They were silent for a moment, not sure of what to say next.

"Look, maybe this was all just a big misunderstanding. Maybe what they meant by _eliminating_ was taking them out of the tournament!" Joey thought.

"Joey, don't you remember what they did to the Healer? They're going to kill Yugi and Kaiba just for this Little One! I bet that they were the ones who caused all the trouble last year." Tea said discomfortingly, wrapping the blanket around her closer. Ryou sighed heavily at the thought.

Tristan was silent before saying, "Wait. There's something else." His friends looked up, Ryou staring at him with suspicion. "When the women left, someone else came. Another woman, only she didn't seem to know about anything what they talked about. She talked to the guy about walking or somethin'. Of course, we couldn't see her face, but something about her voice left me wondering. It seemed so familiar, as if I heard it a long time ago. It was. . . _small_, yet demanding. God, it's on the tip of my tongue, I know it!"

Ryou, Joey and Tea sighed, hoping for something more helpful than that. But, as they were about to speak of the subject more, the door slammed open.

Yugi stood in the doorway heaving big breaths, squinting his eyes. Everyone stood up as he walked into the room, sitting down on the bed beside him. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he held a _niqab_ in his hand, staring at it hard. Yugi didn't say anything to them as he stared at the velvety silk.

"Yugi? Are you okay?" Joey asked, patting his back.

"Look Yugi, we've got something to tell you. . ." Ryou started, walking forward. But then Yugi stood up, wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve.

"I can't tell them," he murmured, slowly walking out the door, "Not yet."

"Tell us what?" Tea asked. Yugi turned his head to look at her.

"You'd never believe me," Yugi muttered, turning around and closing the door shut. Tea blinked and turned to the rest of the group, seeing confusion across their faces.

**A **was silent as she took the elevator in the Enari Hotel. In her hand she held the velvet drawstring bag, tossing it up in the air over and over again. The numbers at the top of the elevator lit up as she went from floor to floor. Scratching her head, **A** stared at the bag as she caught it in the air. Once again she opened it to see seven golden puzzle pieces.

_'Those idiots,' _**A **thought, taking out a piece and staring at it, _'They made me lose my favorite niqab. Great. Now I'm gonna have to go in the tournament without it. Good thing I took this from Chike and Chuma as their punishment.' _She blinked once or twice, watching the piece glint in the light.

"What kind of person would carry stuff like this around?" **A** thought aloud, pouring the large pieces into her hands. She stared at it with false amusement, dropping the bag to the floor. Sighing, she bent down and once more placed the puzzle pieces back in the velvet bag.

"Looks like some kind of puzzle. Maybe I should solve it," **A** said, tossing it once more. "Yeah. Have nothing else to do." Shrugging to herself, **A** opened up the small knapsack she carried and put the drawstring bag into the sack. Then rummaging inside it, took out another _niqab_. Quickly wearing it, she continued, "Well, at least I won't feel so naked in the time being."

The elevator door opened and she walked out. Rummaging inside the knapsack once more, she took out a card key and made a turn right. Stopping to a door, **A** knocked upon it, crossing her arms. After a few moments of muffled mumbling, Sadiki came out and held a huge sack, looking down at her.

"You're late," he said.

"Who said I have a curfew?" **A** grinned, taking the sack out of his hands, "So Adio came?"

Sadiki rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah he came. Came strolling down the street whistling and swinging bags in the air. And for someone that tall, that's quite a sight. I swear, someday that's gonna be his downfall."

"Aww come on. He's just a really happy person, you can learn from him," she said, heaving the sack onto her back. "Omph, heavy."

"Did anything happen on your stroll?" interrogated Sadiki, leaning on the door post with crossed arms. She shrugged.

"Chike and Chuma stole something again and caused a lot of trouble. The people started chasing them, and I met Raziya--their cousin, remember? Well anyway they heaved me into the limo and drove away just as the spiky haired kid stopped following." **A** answered, moving her hair out of her eyes. Sadiki's eyebrows rose, just for a moment.

"Really? Hmm. . . Well, might as well get ready for the tournament. Good luck," Sadiki said, closing the door.

"Yeah, good luck. May the best woman win," **A** said. Sadiki stopped it for a moment and stared at her annoyingly. "Night!" Then she slammed the door for him as a muffled "Ow!" was heard on the other side. Laughing, she then went to her room, which was a few rooms down from his.

When **A** went into her room she threw the sack onto her bed and took out the drawstring bag from the knapsack. Walking over to a desk, she spilled its contents on the table as the pieces scattered about the surface. Flexing her fingers, she thought to herself, _'Well, let's get started.' _

**A** started to put two pieces together as the clock beside her ticked at every second.

The next day Kaiba and Mokuba walked into the Cairo Opera House at noon, handing his invitation to the security guards outside. The man in the shades inspected the invitation as Kaiba stood there calmly, Mokuba fidgeting with the briefcase. The man nodded, handing Kaiba a duel disk. Kaiba easily slipped it onto his wrist, seeing the additions added onto it.

"Hmm, intriguing," Kaiba said, turning around and walking away. Mokuba quickly followed, straining to catch up.

_'Huff, all Seto can think about is the tournament,_' he thought, walking beside him, _'He doesn't even remember that my birthday passed a long time ago.' _His lips curled into a frown as they entered the dueling area. As the doors opened, Mokuba gasped at what he saw.

The Cairo Opera House was incredible, a sparkling crystal chandelier hanging over the vast chamber they were in. It was a circular room, and scattered everywhere were people dueling, unaware of the beauty. Pillars were at every side, supporting the high dome ceiling above. Lights were everywhere, the pearl white walls shown brighter than the sun. Kaiba looked this way and that, searching.

Flicking his head and taking his briefcase, he said, "Let's go Mokuba."

_'Whoever stole my computer chips,' _Kaiba thought as he and Mokuba swerved in and out of the crowd, _'Must be a duelist, considering that the chips were built for Duel Monsters. But for now, I must find Yugi. . . And duel him once more.' _He smirked as he thought of the duel.

"So what are we gonna do big brother?" Mokuba asked, looking up at Kaiba.

"We're going to find me a worthy duelist," Kaiba said, taking huge strides.

**A** muttered under her breath, making her _niqab_ move slightly. She fumbled with the last three pieces of the golden sphere she held, trying to fit it in with the rest. She had a duel disk at her wrist with five puzzle pieces and magic/trap cards she won. As she tried to figure out the puzzle, **A **thought to herself, _'God, this thing is harder than I thought. Unlike the duels today however.' _Leaning against a pillar, **A** slowly calculated where one piece belonged. Crossing fingers for luck, she slid a piece in, fitting perfectly.

Heart beating fast, she slowly slid in another piece. It went in. The sphere was almost whole; all she had to do was put in the piece with the eye. Almost feeling faint, **A** took the last piece and placed it right in the middle of the sphere. It made a small click, and she had a golden sphere necklace of some sort.

She grinned and held the orb in the air triumphantly. "Ha, I finally did it! Took me all night to do it. Wait until Sadiki and the gang sees. . . Speaking of Sadiki, I wonder how he's doing." **A** looked around, seeing amateur cards played in a nearby duel. "Tsh, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already qualified for the finals. Amateurs." Shrugging, she delicately put the finished orb inside the drawstring bag, barely fitting inside. After some urging and pressure, the orb went in as **A **popped it in her knapsack. She wiped her forehead, taking WingWeaver out of her deck and staring at it with quiet satisfaction.

"Quite a strong card you have there," a voice said to her left. Seeing that the person was on her blind side, **A** turned her head to see a tall woman with long golden hair and violet clothing.

"Thank you," **A** replied politely, turning back to her card.

"So you're the duelist everyone's talking about," the woman stated, crossing her arms, "A half-blind girl who has the WingWeaver."

"Tsh, guess so," **A** muttered, rolling her eyes, "The duels are so easy anyway."

The blond lady smirked, holding out her hand. "The name's Mai."

**A** looked at her hand and shook it, saying, "Eshe."

"So Eshe," Mai said, leaning on the pillar beside her, "what do you think of the duelists here?"

Scanning the crowd, she replied, "They're so easy, making novice mistakes. My last duel only lasted for four turns. If I already got five puzzle pieces today, this tournament is gonna be a cinch." **A** held out the puzzle pieces and cards for proof.

Mai laughed, showing five puzzle pieces also. "Same here. It looks like they haven't even got used to their cards yet. I mean, look at that group over there. That kid took out a Harpie's Brother in attack mode, but the other kid has a six starred monster card in defense mode. . ."

As they watched, the boy with the Harpie's Brother attacked the face down card beside the defense monster and revealed a Dream Sprite, a blue fairy with fiery orange wings.

"The special ability of Dream Sprite allows the attack to be focused on another one of my monsters, and I choose my Steel Ogre Grotto #2!" the boy on the other side cried, pointing at the massive machine beside him. The Harpie's Brother attack turned toward the monster in defense mode, disintegrating on it's hard metal. "Subtract the 1800 attack points of your Harpie from my Ogre and you lose 400 life points, making me win the duel!"

The life points on the opponent's duel disk went to zero as the boy received his puzzle piece. He jumped in the air for joy as the other boy was taken away by a man in shades.

"Good observation, but that duel was not of high rank," **A** said to Mai, "But it makes me wonder where they put the losers in."

"Yeah, it's kinda creepy to see a guy come out of nowhere and take you away, huh?" Mai replied. A spark went through her purple eyes as she exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot the whole reason I was here!"

"Did you want to duel me?" **A** asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Not yet," Mai said, winking, "I want to save you for later because of the whole lose-one-duel-get-disqualified thing. Actually, I wanted to look for this one guy."

"And who may he be?" she wondered, now getting off of the pillar and standing.

"He was second runner up in Duelist Kingdom and was in the finals at Battle City, Joey Wheeler. Have you seen him? Big yellow hair, big t-shirt, big mouth. . ." she described.

**A** shook her head and replied, "No, not that I know of--" Suddenly a tall man bumped into her shoulder roughly, making **A** almost topple over.

An angry look on her face, she turned around toward the man and said angrily, "Watch where you're going, baka!" remembering a word she learned in Japanese from Sadiki. The man stood still, his white trench coat rustling. The small black haired boy beside him stopped also, looking behind himself.

Turning his head, the man replied, "Watch who you're calling baka, girl. You should be aware of the superiors around you, which means everyone."

**A**'s hands curled into fists and was about to say something else until she realized who it was.

"Seto Kaiba," Mai said behind her, walking up, "So you're here too?"

Kaiba looked at her with no expression, saying, "Ah, Mai Valentine. So we meet again."

"Hey Mai!" the boy exclaimed, waving his hand, "Whose your friend?"

"Quiet Mokuba," Kaiba ordered, now turning to **A**. "So girl, what do you got to say for yourself?" A smirk appeared on his face, making her turn red with anger.

"Kaiba, can't you lighten up for a change? Sheesh, even outside of dueling you're a jerk," Mai said her hands behind her head.

Kaiba ignored her as he walked up to **A** and stared at her face hard. "Have we met before, girl? You seem. . . _familiar._"

She held her head high as she replied, "Yeah, we _have_ met before. _In your nightmares._" Kaiba's face turned red with anger as Mokuba gasped in surprise.

"Nice one Eshe," Mai whispered to **A**, trying not to laugh.

Quickly going back to normal, Kaiba stared at her like a king would to a peasant. "So _Eshe_, you think you're pretty smart huh?" He stared at her with evil satisfaction.

"Am I smart? Well I must be if one sentence can make your face turn into the color of a tomato," **A** replied with a grin. Duelists from all sides were circling around them, watching with curiosity. Mai smiled at her, thinking how much **A** reminded her of herself. Mokuba glared at the Egyptian woman angrily.

"Don't you dare say that about my brother! He can kick your sorry butt at dueling any time, so you better watch your mouth!" Mokuba yelled out, holding up a fist. **A** glanced at him with a soft look.

She shook her head and laughed lightly, slapping her forehead. "God, what am I doing? I don't have time for this. Sorry 'bout that, kid. Mr. Kaiba. I won't waste your time anymore, besides, I'm _sure_ that you'll want to beat some little kid in a duel right now. Bye." Then **A** walked away gracefully, making sure to do everything she can to annoy the CEO.

"Then I should duel you, shouldn't I?" Kaiba countered slyly, raising an eyebrow. That was when **A** stopped, turning her head towards him. The duelists around them cried out "_Oooooo. . ."_ in unison.

"What's that suppose to mean, _Kaiba?_" she asked, turning around and staring at him.

"Well, from what I see, I don't see any little kids in here other than you, Miss Eshe. Unless you were speaking of yourself in the first place." Kaiba answered. The crowd chattered excitingly at what was to happen next.

**A** glared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and looked away. "Tsh, whatever. I don't need to take this kind of crap from spoiled kids like you." Mai raised her eyebrows as **A **turned around and walked away.

"Hmph, I figured. Too afraid that someone will attack from your blind side, aren't you? Pathetic."

**A** stopped in her tracks, shaking a little. _'Who does he think he is. . .' _She spun around and took out her deck, sliding it into her duel disk. Kaiba grinned, doing the same. Mai and Mokuba looked on with surprise as the people surrounding them hooted and hollered for a duel.

"So what should we bargain?" Kaiba asked.

"If I win the duel, you hand over your rarest trap card and grovel at my feet for forgiveness in front of these fine duelists," **A** replied, waving her hand to the crowd of people. "If **you** win, **I** will hand over my rarest trap card and. . ." She pointed to her _niqab_ as she continued, "I'll take off this veil in public, a very _embarrassing_ thing to do for an Egyptian woman."

Kaiba grinned, saying, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Just giving you some time to enjoy this moment, because you'll be begging for forgiveness later." **A** replied, her duel disk shifting to the dueling mode.

"Be careful for what you wish for," Kaiba said, his duel disk shifting to dueling mode.

_'This is gonna be interesting,' _Mai thought, the duelists whispering amongst themselves.

"LET'S DUEL!"

_To Be Continued. . ._

Ha. Hahahaha. Ho. Man. Can't wait to see what happens next. And to think that Yugi is lurking somewhere in there. . . Who knows? Maybe he's watching himself. . . Man, the duel's gonna take long to type though. Most of the cards will probably be fake, so don't kill me when you see it in the next chapter.


	10. More Than a Duel

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer/Authoress Note:............ Camel Dung. And if you see an underlined word during a duel, that means the card's fake.

Chapter 10: More Than a Duel

"You can do it Seto!" cried out Mokuba, "Beat her into the sand!"

**A** saw the raven haired boy by Mai, watching him make his remarks. _'Gee, I wonder where the kid gets his attitude,' _**A** thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes and drawing five cards. For a moment she looked over to her opponent, looking smug in his spot. _'Tsh, this guy obviously believes that he can beat me. Well don't worry Kaiba, I'm tougher than I look.' _

"I place two cards facedown on the field and play the Skull Mariner in attack mode!" **A** announced as a ship with a red skull and black and red sails appeared on the field, 1600/900. She grinned as she looked at Kaiba's expression. "Your move."

"With pleasure," Kaiba replied, staring at his cards and then at the battle field._ 'She left that monster in attack mode, a foolish move to make. But then again, there is that facedown card. . . It must be a magic card to power up her Mariner. But it might be something else. . . The best move right now is to play it safe, you can't trust people like her after all.'_

Taking one card out of his hand, he announced with an air of confidence, "I place one card facedown on the field and summon the Battle Ox in defense mode!" Materializing on the field was an ox dressed in armor, snorting into the air, his defense 1000. **A** raised an eyebrow, expecting something more. _'Well, if that's how you want it. . .' _

"Skull Mariner! Attack his Battle Ox!" she ordered, pointing toward the hologram. The ship cackled as it sailed its point straight into the ox's chest, shattering to pieces. Kaiba's trench coat rustled as his monster was destroyed. "Next, I sacrifice my Mariner to summon my Firey Magee in attack mode! Then I play Ookazi, inflicting 800 direct damage to your life points!" A man dressed in robes of fire appeared on the field, 2200/1100. Then as the magic card lifted up, a flow of fire suddenly shot out of it, hitting Kaiba directly, life points 3200. He staggered back a step and regained his balanced.

**A** wasn't satisfied though; Kaiba wasn't showing any weakness. _'What is he planning?'_

"If you really think that this duel will be _that_ easy," he said, smirking, "then you're wrong. I draw." Lifting card out of his deck, Kaiba stared at it, and then grinned in triumph. **A** started to feel nervous.

"Cool!" a boy cried out, eyes shining, "That girl is kicking Kaiba's butt!"

"Don't even think about it," Mai said with her arms crossed, "This duel is just getting started." Mokuba stared at her for a moment, then stared at Kaiba's opponent.

_'Who is she?' _Mokuba thought.

. . .

Some time later Yami stepped into the circular room, duel disk on his wrist and his deck in his hand. He turned his head this way and that, his mass of hair blocking the sunlight. _'I'm late. . .' _ His feet made clicking noises against the tiles as he walked around, searching for his friends. Many people were about, over 200 at least, and he had no idea where Joey and the others would be.

_'Yugi had refused to come to the tournament,' _Yami thought, seeing a group of duelists walking passed him, _'So I had to. I worry for him; he truly believes he saw her. . .' _Yami continued searching as lines of duelists were all going in the same direction, chattering. _'But he did not have to exclude our friends. What is wrong, Yugi? He hasn't been well lately, waking up in the middle of the night, sweat beading down his face--' _

It was then something broke his train of thought, as he heard a quite loud voice yelling out to the duelists.

"Dudes! There's like, a duel going on between Seto Kaiba and the girl with the WingWeaver! This way!" a man with sunglasses and pink spiked hair cried out, waving his hand and pointing his other hand in the other direction. Yami raised an eyebrow as everyone sped forward.

"Kaiba? Hmm, it's not like him to challenge a duelist so suddenly. . ." Yami said, looking bewildered. As people passed him, he heard bits and pieces of their conversations. Shrugging, he followed, listening closely.

"Did you hear? Kaiba got a really rare card! Even better than Blue Eyes!"

"Who is that girl anyway? She's really weird lookin'. . ."

"You know how they started the duel? The girl was proposing to Kaiba— like literally, you know, marriage — and he said he won't marry her unless he beats her in a duel!"

"Hey, what's up with her left eye? It's like, hazy. . ."

"Dude, the funniest thing happened. I was at the hotel, and I saw Kaiba walking out of his room in pink bunny slippers and Hello Kitty pajamas! Isn't that funny?"

"I heard that the girl is really Kaiba's long lost cousin. . ."

_'I do not believe that information is correct,' _Yami thought with an amused smile, shaking his head. So as he was walking, he noticed he followed behind a particular group of men, all dress in Fellahin Egyptian clothing. But of course Yami didn't know what that meant. Yami leaned in as he listened to a man with a bandana on his head speak.

"Do ya really think they're talkin' bout **A**? I mean come on, she's not stupid. . ." the man said, tossing a sheathed dagger in the air with precision. The men around him didn't seem to notice or even care if he accidentally dropped the dagger on one of their heads.

"Now really Badru," a man with wild blond hair with a sweatband on his forehead replied, holding onto a laptop computer, "do you really think she's bad at dueling? She's way better than you, considering **A **kicked your sorry behind quite a number of times. I think she has a chance to win this."

"Aye, I agree with Zuka over here. After **A**'s victory against Kaiba, we shall go have an ale and bread!" a tall muscular man announced, sunlight glinting off his bald head.

"That's what you always say Adio," chuckled a black haired man, hands behind his head. As a duelist walked up to them, he quickly swiped a pouch from them, grinning.

"Yup, and we're not even old enough," chuckled another black haired man, who looked exactly like the one beside him. He repeated what the other man did, taking money from a passerby, also grinning with pleasure.

Adio then looked at them seriously, eyes narrow. "No one is ever young enough for bread and ale."

"You should talk Chike, Chuma. Considering you steal beer almost every week. Get a move on guys," a man with brown hair in a ponytail ordered, walking forward.

"Sheesh, why's he so nervous all of a sudden? He did win five puzzle pieces today," Chike thought aloud.

Badru shrugged and replied, "That's Sadiki for you." Then they all walked forward, quickly following Sadiki. Yami followed but was away by a yard or so, and thought to himself, _'Hmm, these men seem to know the girl, interesting. And those twins, they look awfully familiar. . .' _Before Yami could think anymore on the subject, he heard cries and hoots coming from a huddled crowd. He raised an eyebrow as an angel like hologram towered above the crowd, making him run forward.

Pushing through the crowd, he found himself at the front and saw Kaiba, his eyebrows furrowed with concentration. Then he looked at his opponent, a woman dressed in Egyptian clothing, a niqab covering her face, her green eyes peering out. Yami looked surprised; who is she?

"Hey Yugi, decided to check it out huh?" a female voice asked, as Yami looked over to his side.

"Mai! How good it is to see you!" Yami exclaimed as they shook hands. From behind her he saw Joey, Tea, Tristan and Ryou. His eyes widened once more. "Joey? What are you doing here?"

Joey shrugged and replied, "Well, just as we were about to go in, we heard about this duel, and we're like, okay, sure, lets watch Kaiba kick a girl's butt. Nothing new, except that this duel _has been going on for a long time. _Seriously, this is probably the most stubborn duel I ever seen!"

"It's been one attack after another, magic card against trap, so on. But overall, very interesting," Mai replied, patting Joey's head.

"What is the current status?" Yami asked.

"Well, Kaiba over there has 1700 life points, and the girl has 1500 life points. Very close match, don't you think? The girl must be very good--" Ryou started.

"Or very lucky," Tristan said.

"Yeah, but. . . Oh look! Kaiba's making his next move. . ." Tea exclaimed as all eyes were set upon the CEO. He stood tall and proud, his head tilted upwards. **A** rolled her eyes. The crew was rooting for her, practically waving flags and hitting drums, Chike and Chuma making sure they were far from view from Kaiba. Sadiki was silent through it all, his eyes glinting with frustration and his lips moving a little.

_'No, I can't. . . They'll find out. . .'_

You must.

_'Too many people. . . Got to do it somewhere else. . .'_

Pharaoh and Priest are near. Little One must stay secret.

_'I can't I can't I can't. . . Not now, too late. . . Not safe. . .'_

Sadiki looked up and saw Yami staring at him, his piercing gaze upon him. His eyes widened; how did he. . ? Yami was confused, staring at the man across the field from him. Did he hear Pharaoh?

There was a rustle to his left, seeing a man in a blue suit walk up and sit down on the ground, watching the duel. Yami thought to himself, _'Mr. Enari?' _Sadiki looked over to where Yami was staring and saw him, his eyes widening in fear. _'YOU!!'_

Enari grinned and stared at him through his fingers, the tips together like a tent. _'I knew it. . . It's here. . .'_

Sadiki. . .

_'Shut up! I know what I have to do!' _

As he looked over to the duel, Kaiba was in the middle of an attack, until **A **raised the card Stop Attack. "Very nice, Eshe, but you'll need more than simple trap cards to stop me," Kaiba said, staring at his hand. He grinned at her. "And this is for stealing my Blue Eyes last time. . ."

"Stealing Blue Eyes?" said Yami, surprised.

Mai nodded and said, "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. But she defeated the Blue Eyes before, when Kaiba summoned it by sacrifice. At first she used an Aqua Spirit to switch the dragon to defense mode, but that didn't work because it was still too strong. So instead she used Brain Control and got the Blue Eyes for one turn."

"And you know what she did with it? She sacrificed it and Aqua Spirit to summon her WingWeaver. See? It's still on the field. . ." Joey announced, pointing to a winged creature dressed in robes on her side, 2750/2400. **A **grinned as she remembered last time.

"Heh, really took you to the edge, didn't it Kaiba? I could have used the Blue Eyes White Dragon to do some serious damage, but I thought, hey, how about some psychological damage and sacrifice the Blue Eyes for another monster? And what do you know, my favorite card WingWeaver happened to be in my hand. Funny, isn't it?" She said.

Kaiba snorted, saying, "And you think that Prissy Wings is gonna stop me? You may have destroyed some of my monsters, but you have no idea what's in store for you."

"Now it's time for your doom! I summon to the field Lord of Dragons!"

Suddenly a hologram of a man in a bone suit appeared in defense mode, 1200/1100. He clasped his hands behind him as **A **stared in horror. _'I forgot about the other Blue Eyes!'_

"Next I play the magic card, the Flute of Summoning Dragon, which allows me to summon two dragons onto the field in my hand with my Lord of Dragons!" Kaiba yelled out, as a flute appeared in front of the Lord. He blew in the mouth piece and behind him thunder sounded and lighting flew.

The two Blue Eyes White Dragons.

**A **gaped as Kaiba continued, "This is what you get for disrespecting my Blue Eyes! Now Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack her WingWeaver with White Lightning!" her arms flew in front of her to protect her from the blast as her life points went down to 1250.

"My. . . My WingWeaver. . ." she whispered staring at the empty space in front of her. Falling to her knees, the dragon toward above her, her eyes staring helplessly.

She has the Orb. . .

_'What?! Why didn't you tell me soon--'_

Stop this duel now. . . the Orb will activate. . .

Yami looked up from the duel to Sadiki, eyes narrowed. Orb. . ?

That was when **A**'s head started to ache. Her hands were pressed against her head, groaning a little.

"**A**?!" the crew shouted, confused. Sadiki stared in desperation, seeing Enari's eyebrows rising. He looked over to Yami, Kaiba, **A**, and back at Enari.

For a moment they had eye contact, and in that moment Enari grinned, murmuring, "I knew it. . ."

"Get up you fool!" Kaiba ordered, the dragon roaring, "Are you too scared? Do you now finally admit defeat?" With a pained look, **A** opened one eye, the eye that wasn't blind.

She saw something strange, something new. What is this?

_'Red. Everything is red, wet, cold. . . My breathing. . . It's short. . . Wha. . . Where am I?' Without even looking up, she peered into the face of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but beside it was not Kaiba. Instead, a man in royal robes of an Egyptian Priest stood beside it, grinning with an evil madness._

_"Stand up Maeve, you pathetic wretch. . . You will lose this match, you will never save your brother. . . And to think that you were foolish enough to challenge me." The man said with a smile._

Brother?

_"Set. . . If you touch my brother, you will DIE. . ." she replied, without **A **even thinking about it. Set walked forward and slashed with a dagger, and all she could see was darkness. . ._

**A** blinked. What was that? For some reason she couldn't stand up, her legs wouldn't move. Everyone stared at her in confusion. She looked behind her and saw Sadiki yelling at her, making swift movements. **A **couldn't hear anything, but as she turned around and tried to stand, Kaiba made his final move.

"Blue Eyes, attack her life points directly!!" Kaiba cackled, lightning flying towards her.

"Oh my god," she said as the blast was closer and closer. _'I lost. . .'_ The blast made impact, and the crew and Sadiki yelled out her name helplessly. Everyone covered their eyes, and only Mr. Enari saw the golden light emerging from **A**'s knapsack. He grinned, swishing his hair. Dust was everywhere, the attack shaking the Cairo Opera House to its very core. No one could see anything.

Kaiba grinned as the dust settled. "This duel is over. Hand over your rarest trap and magic card Esh--" He stopped, staring with wide eyes. "What?" Sadiki and Yami looked also, not believing what they saw.

**A** remained on the floor sitting, blinking hard. She wasn't hurt; everyone whispered.

"She's. . . She's not hurt," Tea said.

"But how?! From an attack like that, she should be sprawled on the ground helpless!" Tristan exclaimed, everyone staring in disbelief. She stared at her hands, and then at her duel disk, to see that she hadn't lost one life point.

"Wha?" she said, staring hard.

"This is impossible! I was supposed to win this duel! How can you still have life points?!" Kaiba yelled out angrily, now facing Mr. Enari. "Enari! What did you do to these disks?!" Calmly Enari stood up.

"Apparently I haven't done a thing," he said, closing his eyes, "Could Miss Eshe done something to make the disks have a glitch in the system?"

Kaiba flung his arms out in frustration as the holograms disappeared. **A **continued to stare at her deck, until she realized what she saw before. She reached into her knapsack and pulled out the circular drawstring bag. Yami gasped aloud. _'The Millennium Orb! That's what they meant!' _

The CEO stomped up and grabbed **A** by the collar, shaking her. "What the hell did you do!?"

That was when she got to her senses, saying, "Hey, get off of me you idi--"

The niqab fell to the ground as her face was revealed. Kaiba blinked, staring at her. **A**'s eyes widened as she tried to cover her face. Sadiki's eyes widened also, realizing what happened. Yami and his friends stared in shock at her. Mokuba ran over and gasped at what he saw.

"So, that's what Eshe looks like. Funny, I thought she had scars under there," Mai stated.

"I-I was suppose to take off the niqab, n-not you! T-that wasn't part of the deal, Kaiba!" she stuttered, slapping his hand away from her.

Take her away.

_'How?!'_

Find a way. . . Before he says. . .

"Aura?!" Kaiba yelled out, staggering back.

"Chike! Chuma! Distract them!" Sadiki ordered, running toward **A**.

"Who?" they asked.

"Kaiba and Yugi Moto!" Chike and Chuma looked at each other, shrugged, and walked toward Kaiba and Yami. Sadiki grabbed **A**'s hand and ran away before anyone could say a word, Badru, Zuka and Adio thinking that this isn't their area of expertise.

Yami and the others were about to follow, until Chuma popped up in front of them, waving his hand. "Hi! Remember me?"

"You! You were the one who stole my--" Yami started.

"You've grown taller. Who does your hair? It's incredible. . . The structure of it all, it should be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. . ."

"You idiot!" Kaiba yelled out as he and Mokuba started to run after them. Suddenly Chike showed up, smiling and waving his hand also.

"Hi Kaiba! Hi Kaiba! Hi Kaiba!" he repeated, pretending to be a bunny. "I hop over stub. . ." Kaiba didn't want to listen, but he was trapped as Chike hopped a circle around him, sticking out his rear and nose straight in the air.

"Heehaw! Heehaw! Kaiba's an idiot! Kaiba's an idiot! He has a midget! He has a midget. . ."

"A Kodak moment," Mai said, shaking her head.

. . .

Mr. Enari stepped into the limousine, watching Sadiki and **A** disappear into the streets. He smiled to himself as he said, "Raziya, let us leave."

Raziya snorted and scrambled up in her seat, muttering, "Eh? Oh, okay. . ." She started the engine and the limo started to pull out into the streets. Enari grinned as he stared outside his window.

_'I should have known. . . She was the Little One the Fates spoke of. Of course they would leave her in his care. . . My dear brother, did you honestly believe that you can keep her secret forever? You always were a fool Sadiki. . .' _Enari chuckled and popped a grape in his mouth.

"It won't be long now," he said.

To Be Continued. . .

Chapters are taking me longer to update. School is getting harder. Oh well. I'm also in the process of drawing everyone in my story that I made up. I'm almost done, and when I am, I'll go post it up on my bio so all can see. Hope you like this chapter.


	11. Sadiki's Plan

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer/Authoress Note:............ Whippersnappers

Chapter 11: Sadiki's Plan

Sadiki and **A** ran fast, his hand clutching hers hard. People surrounding them moved out of the way, outraged by the behavior. The sun beamed down on the two, Sadiki sweating hard. _'Got to get her safe. . . Somewhere safe. . .' _They made a turn into a market place as **A** flailed behind, her black hair flying behind her. For a moment she couldn't see anything, feeling quite sick.

His golden eyes brightened as he saw the iron door. Catching his breath, he knocked on the door three times rhythmically saying over and over _'Got to hurry. . . Got to hurry. . .' _A hole in the door slid open and a pair of cerulean eyes peered before him. The eyes looked worried; Sadiki's face was warped into millions of emotions. **A** groaned aloud as Sadiki held her around her waist, her arm on his shoulder.

"Falling Lotus," he cried out, "And hurry Hassan!"

The eye hole closed and the door opened quickly as Sadiki pulled **A** inside. They went through another door and flew past the men in their stalls, going this way and that.

"Sadiki? **A**? What is amiss?" they cried out, but Sadiki ignored them, going into their own stall and hiding inside it, heaving in and out. Sadiki looked over to **A** and saw her discolored face, immediately alarmed. Going over to a box he grabbed a bottle of water, reassuring her and giving the bottle to her to drink. She took it hastily, gulping it down to its last drop. They were silent as this continued, not quite ready to speak.

After a moment she asked in a pained voice, "What's g-going on Sadiki? I feel sick. . ."

As he was about to answer, he saw that the thieves were standing over the stall, a worried look on all of their faces. Growling, Sadiki yelled out, "What are you doing!? Get back to work! Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Apparently not Sadiki," one thief said with arms crossed. "Hassan here told us something was wrong with **A**, isn't that right?" He turned to a tall man with sleek sliver hair and blue eyes, who replied back with hand motions similar to sign language, staring at Sadiki hard.

Sadiki glared at him, saying, "There's nothing wrong! **A** is just a little sick; why can't you just leave her alone?!"

"Well there must be something we can do to help," another thief replied, scratching his head, "I mean I'm sure we have some medicine we can use for **A** that we stole, can't we?" The thieves nodded in agreement.

Sadiki was silent for a moment as Adio, Badru and Zuka appeared, waiting for an order. For a moment he stared at **A**, her face filled with pain. In the corner of his eye he saw Hassan giving hand motions, asking what to do. Giving out a sigh, he said, "Hassan, can you take her back to the boat and take care of her? Make sure she doesn't do anything that could endanger her health. Badru, Adio, I want you to keep an eye out for Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba, watch them, see what they're doing. As for you Zuka, I need your help with something. . . personal."

Nodding their heads, Adio and Badru picked **A** up around the arms, telling her that it was going to be okay. Hassan walked over to one of the thieves and asked in hand motions to watch over the door, then walked with Adio and Badru. Walking away, the other thieves slowly disappeared to their own stalls, a cloud of suspicion and concern still above their heads. Staring at Zuka, Sadiki nodded and walked back into their stall, staring at the box of the abandoned computer chips.

"Hack into Kaiba's computer Zuka," he ordered.

. . .

Chike and Chuma ran off to the streets in hysteric laughter as Yami, Kaiba and the others ran after them, yelling and raising their hands in hopes to stop them. But sooner than they expected the twins disappeared, concealed in the crowd of Egyptians. Yami slowed to a stop, heaving in and out. _'I lost them again. . .'_ Kaiba breathed hard, glaring out in front of him. Mokuba, Joey, Tristan, Tea and Ryou stood up, a worried look on all their faces.

"You. . . You saw it, didn't you? That girl. . . she looked like Aura," Mokuba whispered as Kaiba and Yami shot up in surprise.

"But, but how is it _possible_? I mean, she's dead. How did she come back to life, and if she did, why now?" Ryou wondered. Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say next.

"Maybe. . . Maybe it was just a hallucination," Tea suggested, laughing nervously.

"But that guy who took her away, it was the same person who talked to the three women who killed the Healer last year," Tristan said, Yami's eyes growing in surprise.

"What do you mean Tristan?" he asked.

Joey shrugged and replied, "Well, you left in such a hurry yesterday, we didn't get a chance to explain. . ." So Tristan and Ryou started, telling how they were just getting ice and suddenly found Sadiki talking to three robed women, the same women who murdered the Healer a year ago. Then they told him how they planned to murder him and Kaiba for this Little One they spoke of. After they left, another woman appeared and spoke to Sadiki for awhile, until she walked away.

Joey pondered a bit, saying, "That woman must have been Aura! Those two must have known each other all year!!" Kaiba was silent as he stood against the brick wall, looking off to the side.

"It. . . It must be. . ." Yami said slowly, "For I had seen her before." Yami then explained how Yugi was pick-pocketed by the same twins yesterday, and they stole the pieces of the Orb, which was why she had it.

"You. . . You had the Orb?" Ryou asked in amazement as Yami nodded.

"And today a group of six men were ahead of me, and it seems as if they all knew Aura. In fact, the man who took her and the twins were in the group," Yami continued, the answer dawning on him.

"So that means. . ." Tristan said.

"That Aura has been with those men all this time!" Tea exclaimed, jumping.

"Does. . . Does that mean that Aura's alive?!" Mokuba asked, excitement rising in his voice.

Suddenly Kaiba made a fist and smashed it against the wall, quieting everyone around him. Mokuba and the others gasped, wondering what Kaiba was feeling. Yami stared at him with silence.

"You're wrong," Kaiba said, glaring at all of them, "You're all wrong! She is not alive; I should know! She asked me to drop her in that stupid, fiery pit a year ago! Aura wanted to be with her family, you idiots! Why would she come back? HOW could she come back? I've forgotten about this whole thing a long time ago, and you should too!"

"But Kaiba--" Yami started.

"That's enough! The only reason I came to Egypt was to search for my lost chips! That's all! Not to go look for dead girl who was stupid enough to be suicidal!" Kaiba yelled out, turning around and flipping on his laptop computer. His fingers went fast across the keyboard, everyone quiet.

"What are you doing big brother?" Mokuba asked quietly, sitting down beside him.

"I'm going to show you," he muttered, staring at the screen, "that Aura is dead." As Yami looked over Kaiba's shoulder, he saw that he was going through the Osiris Tournament data base, searching for people with WingWeavers. As it trickled down to one, Kaiba grinned and said aloud, "There, now we'll see that she is not ali--"

The screen turned black as everyone stared in silence, blinking. Suddenly a cursor appeared in the middle of the computer, and slowly it began to type.

**-Hello Kaiba.-**

Kaiba gaped; Mokuba stared at it with pure wonder. Joey leaned forward and tapped the screen to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks with him. People passed by them but did not notice the stunned silence around the group of teenagers.

**-I believe that I have something you want.-**

The CEO shook his head, holding his bangs above his eyes to see the text clearly. Ryou looked at the screen and wondered who this person was. Tristan wondered if it had anything to do with that news report a few days ago. Tea was worried, fiddling with her thumbs nervously. Yami was silent, hand on chin, thinking. Glaring a bit, Kaiba typed back:

**-Who is this?-**

The computer screen was blank for a moment until it answered back:

**-I am the one who stole your computer chips.-**

Mokuba gasped aloud, exclaiming, "Seto! It's the thieves we've been looking for!" Kaiba nodded, unable to speak. Quickly his fingers typed, saying:

**-How did you hack into my computer?-**

**-My team is very talented.-**

_'Well, no doubt about that,'_ Kaiba thought, quickly replying:

**-What do you want?-**

**-My team and I have a proposition to make.-**

"A proposition?" Tristan repeated, staring over Kaiba's shoulder, "Is that a good idea Kaiba?"

"Yes, we don't know who this man even is. I believe that you shou--" Yami started.

"Quiet Yugi," Kaiba said, typing again.

**-So what's your offer?-**

**-I want to talk.-**

Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he answered back:

**-What do you mean?-**

**-Meet us at the pier south of where you are standing now. Come to the docks, and you'll get your chips back. My team is watching you from a distance.-**

Suspicious, Yami looked around him, thinking that anyone could be this mysterious person. Kaiba licked his lips, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

**-When do you want to meet?-**

**-Now.-**

Kaiba was alarmed; Now? But why?

"Kaiba. . ." Yami said in a warned voice. He ignored him, saying:

**-Deal.-**

The screen was blank for awhile, until one message appeared.

**-By the way, why don't you bring your little friends with you? The people beside you right now?-**

He stared with wide eyes, wondering why this person wanted _them_ to come also. Kaiba turned his head and stared at them, wondering what the catch was. As he turned back to the computer, it slowly typed its last message:

**-Don't you want your chips?-**

Everyone was silent as they saw that message blinking on the screen over and over, as if it was a clock counting how long it would take them to get to the pier. 1, 2, 3, 4. . .

"I have a bad feeling about this," Yami murmured.

...

Kaiba, Yami and the others all stood at the entrance of the pier, watching boats coming in and out of the docks. There was much yelling and throwing in the air as distant birds flew over the clouds, almost covering the sun for a moment. Yami found it comforting; he always found strength and hope in the sun. He sighed and let the warm touch of sunlight wash over him as everyone else covered their eyes from it.

"Where are they?" Joey asked, acting as nervous as a thug in a court room.

"We did come as soon as we can, didn't we?" Ryou asked, staring at a box of rotting fish off to the side.

"But why do they want to meet us too? I mean, to me this should only involve Kaiba," Tea said, cradling herself.

"This guy," Tristan said, looking around, "may want more than just a talk." Yami was silent once more, but agreed with Tristan's thought. Mokuba kept a straight face, but couldn't help but feel a dreading feeling.

Suddenly Kaiba saw something in the corner of his eye. Turning around, he saw a man hooded and caped, his face covered with a silver mouth mask. Yami looked over to where Kaiba was staring, and soon everyone saw the mysterious man leaning against the wall.

Mokuba glared and said, "That's the same clothes the thugs who stole the computer chips wore."

The man lifted his head, revealing dark blue eyes. Lifting up a hand, he flung it toward himself and turned around into an alleyway. Kaiba clutched his briefcase and took long strides across the road into the alleyway, Mokuba following from behind. His brows furrowed, Yami and the others followed.

As they entered the pathway, Kaiba and Yami looked at all sides, searching for the man who led them there. There was nothing however; only dark shadows pierced the mud-brick walls around them.

"Where are they?" Kaiba asked a dissatisfied look on his face. But he spoke too soon.

Suddenly the shadows were moving. They went to one spot to another, a flash of cloth appearing for a second. The group all crowded into each other, remembering the last time they were surrounded by Millennium Hunters in Domino. Yami's eyes shifted from one place to another. How many were there?

A person appeared, caped and with a silver mouth mask. Instead of a hood, a bandana covered his hair, clutching onto several sword hilts around his waist. Then beside him another man appeared, caped and with a silver mouth mask also. His hood was down, revealing wild golden hair with a bandana across his forehead, his bangs almost covering his serious eyes.

On the other side of the group a man appeared with the same attire, his hood down revealing a shiny bald head. He put out his muscular arms and cracked his knuckles, glaring at them. Beside the man two men came out of the air and landed on their feet, capes flying and hoods down, revealing a silver mouth mask and brown eyes, their messy black hair aroused to life.

Kaiba looked at all of them, his eyes landing on the two men's faces. Yami looked at them with wide eyes, saying, "You two. . ." Their eyes showed amusement as they waved their hands at them.

Suddenly another man appeared, caped and hooded. Shadows covered his face as his golden mouth mask glinted in the limited sunlight. As he looked up, his gold eyes stared at Yami and Kaiba menacingly, taking off his hood and revealing brown hair tied in a ponytail, his bangs drifting above his eyes.

Kaiba stepped forward with determination and ordered, "Who are you?" The man didn't answer; he threw a box in front of Kaiba. The CEO opened it and saw his beautiful chips carefully inside.

But Kaiba still didn't understand. What does this man want?

"Why are you doing this?" Kaiba asked, glaring at him.

There was silence for a moment as he slowly unclasped his mouth mask from behind his head, all the while saying, "Seto Kaiba, Yugi Moto. If you ever go near Aura again. . ."

Sadiki took off his mask and snapped it in half.

"I'll tear you apart with my bare hands."

To Be Continued. . .

Muahaha. Ha. Ha. This chapter is dedicated to Cowboy Bebop; Shooting Star, where I got the idea for the computer thing. Don't you like? I like lots. So anyway, you will realize that Sadiki knows **A**'s real name. How? How much does he know? When will the Black Breeze actually tell you? SOON. Review please.


	12. Someone Important

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer/Authoress Note: ............ Snapper Whips

Chapter 12: Someone Important

"So you know," Yami said, walking forward, "that the woman who was with you is Aura." Sadiki stared at him in silence, nodding his head. With the flick of his hand, the rest of the crew unclasped their masks and walked beside Sadiki, making Tea moved back a bit, afraid.

"You also realize that I don't take threats very seriously, don't you Mr. . ?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow. Chike and Chuma stifled a giggle as Adio and Badru both punched them on the arm, glaring at them.

"My name is Sadiki of the Enari Family," he replied, "I was chosen to protect the Priestess." Yami raised his eyebrows in surprise as everyone gasped at the name.

Nudging his shoulder, Badru asked Adio, "Hey, did you ever know that his last name was Enari?"

Adio shrugged and replied, "News to me. Say, when did you decide to tell us that bit o' information, eh?"

"That's Apis Enari's last name, isn't it?" Chike asked.

"Stupid, of course it is," Chuma exclaimed, "It explains why they were giving the evil eye to each other in the duel."

"Is Apis your brother Sadiki?" Zuka asked. Sadiki was silent for a moment, not looking back.

"Leave. All of you," Sadiki ordered, "I must speak to these people in private. Be on the look out." They all looked at each other, not sure of what this was all about. But they gave no complaint as they walked out of the alleyway, talking and laughing about this or that. Yami looked behind himself, curious.

_'Yami, I don't think that these people are bad,' _Yugi spoke through Mind Link, _'In fact, they almost seem. . . Normal.'_

_'Yes, I agree,' _Yami said, staring back at the man.

"So you're Apis Enari's brother, ok, I can take that. Nothing weirder than what I ever heard before," Joey said, "but what does that have to do with Aura?"

Sadiki walked passed them, stopping to where Yami and Kaiba stood. Without turning his head, he said, "Follow me." He walked out of the alleyway and into the streets as the group of teenagers followed him out into the banks of the Nile. The broken mouth mask laid glinting in the sunlight.

A shadow gathered. In the small sunlight a dress shoe stepped in front of the mask. Another step. Apis Enari grinned as he stared down at the broken mask. Bending down, he took the two pieces and examined them, watching with deep satisfaction.

Standing to his feet, he placed the mask inside his jacket pocket and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

. . .

Adio took a sip of coffee as he watched over **A**'s sleeping form. He made a disapproving sound as he watched her groaning and eyes squeezed shut, tossing and turning in the bed. Zuka walked in and stood by Adio, clutching his laptop tight. Badru sat down on a chair across the room, polishing the steel of his sword. Every once in a while he looked back at **A**, shaking his head in displeasure.

"What's wrong with her, mate?" Adio asked, the happiness in his voice gone.

Zuka sighed and revealed a small accent as he replied, "I dunno. It rocks me to the very edge to see her like this. We're usually the ones who get hurt, you know?"

"Yeah, well," Badru said, taking the blade and barely pricking his finger on the tip, "it seems to me that she acted the same way as the time we first found her, before she . . . changed." This comment only made Zuka and Adio more worried, wondering if the same thing as before would happen again.

"Then let's just hope. . . That she won't do that once more," Adio murmured, rubbing his neck. Then all eyes were set upon **A**, watching her breath in and out, chest moving up and down. Although they didn't know it, the Fates were by her side also, a blank expression on each of their faces.

She made a groan and turned to her side, clutching the pillow against her cheek.

. . .

"_Here you go Aura. Come, slowly now. . ."_

"_No no, it's too big. . . Too big. . ."_

"_Yukio, must you really--?"_

"_My dear Eshe, we must teach our daughter how to properly jump in the waves."_

"_You always were a silly man, Yukio."_

"_Come now, Angel, see? That one isn't big, is it not? Shall we jump?"_

"_Yes Daddy. . ."_

"_There's my courageous little girl. Oh, here it comes, ready? Now jump!"_

_SPLASH._

"_There, that wasn't scary, now was it?"_

"_Again! Again!"_

"_Hahaha, ok my dear. Ready now? Jump!"_

_SPLASH._

_Do you remember who you are?_

_No. . . Someone's waiting for me, someone important. . ._

_Who?_

_I don't know, I don't know. . ._

_Do you know who I am?_

_No, no I don't. . ._

_How can you forget me Aura?_

_My name's not Aura, it's not Aura. . ._

_A boy with spiky tri-colored hair. A tall man. He looks strong. Wow, that man can lift the boy really high. He's laughing. What a nice laugh. The boy looks nice, I wonder if we could be friends. . . Wait, what am I thinking? He reminds me of my brother. . . Brother? _

_Wait, there's a girl. She looks so sad. Wow, what long hair, gold and black. . . She kinda looks like me. Her eyes are funny-looking though. What the heck? Funny-looking? Wait. The boy's going to those other men, they look like teachers. . . What weird clothing, it looks like the pictures on the pyramid. Waitaminute, I never been to the pyramids. They're teaching the boy something. The girl's all alone. They look like royalty. Her eyes are so green. . ._

_"Father, when will you give me priests to work with?"_

_"Ha ha, my gift from above, you have no need for one."_

_"Atemu has them."_

_"He is the future Pharaoh of Egypt, you are only his sister."_

_"But Father, I wish to learn as wel--"_

_"That is enough. A woman has no need for such arts."_

_"If a woman has no need for that Father, why do you not embrace me as you do with Atemu?"_

_". . ."_

_"Hmm, just as I thought. You think I am a mistake, just as everyone here."_

_SLAP._

_She's on the ground. That man isn't very nice._

_"Go to your chambers, Maeve. Do NOT leave until you remember how to be a woman again."_

_Uh-oh, the girl's not moving._

_SLAP._

_The boy's coming, but he's not doing anything. Stop him, please stop him._

_"And you, Atemu. Do YOU have anything to say to me?"_

_". . . No sir."_

_"Stand up wretch. Take your papyrus and leave."_

_She's standing up. She's taking her paper and stuff and walking out of here. The teachers want to help, but they aren't. . . Her eyes are puffy. She's stopping by the boy. What? What's she saying?_

_". . . I hate you, Atemu."_

_SLAP._

_"Learn to behave correctly in front of your Pharaoh, Maeve."_

_Someone needs me. . . Someone important. . ._

_Do you know who that is Aura?_

_No._

_I need you Aura._

Yami looked out the window, a sad look upon his face. Even at this moment, he couldn't believe how he was convinced to do so. As he looked across the chamber, he saw Ryou, Tristan, Joey and Tea sitting by each other, talking quietly. Kaiba and Mokuba sat by Yami, each looking quite flustered in their own thoughts. Making a tent with his fingers, Yami closed his eyes softly.

_"Don't worry, I'll protect her," Sadiki said as they were all crowded out of the limo. Yami hesitated; how does he know? The wind was moving briskly as the sun started to set. _

_Kaiba glared. "How can I trust a person like you to keep your promise?" he asked with suspicion. Sadiki stared back at him, not frightened. He rolled up his sleeve and outstretched his wrist, an insignia of a bird and pyramid on the center of his wrist bone. Ryou's eyebrows rose, but just for a moment._

_"This is the Enari Crest. It proves my loyalty to the balance of Pharaoh Atemu," Sadiki replied, sighing. "I am bound to this task."_

_Raziya poked her head out of the limo, saying, "Ah, don't take 'im too seriously. He's always like that. I'm bound to my crew, I'm bound to my friends, I'm bound to this French fry. . ." Sadiki turned around and as quick as a bug Raziya went back in, disappearing._

_Sighing once more, Sadiki continued, "My family was waiting for this to come. Our purpose was to protect the balance, and the only way we can do that is ensure your safety. And right now, someone's threatening it. You must leave."_

_"But you haven't even told us enough information. We don't know what this balance is, or who's the person threatening it!" Joey cried out._

_"I can't tell you. . . I'm sorry, but it will be better if you didn't know anything at all," Sadiki murmured, looking down._

_"Sadiki, you know you can't make me leave when I know my sister's spirit is out there," Yami said, angry but respecting the man's motives._

_"I know. But if you want to save her," he almost yelled, looking up, "You must leave her in my care!"_

_Yami was silent._

"I'm a fool," Yami whispered, "I'm such a fool." Kaiba's eyes shifted over to him, but kept silent with his own thoughts.

"I just can't believe that Aura, that stupid girl, is still alive," Kaiba laughed a little nervously, crossing his arms. "Well, at least my business in Egypt is finally done. There's no need to go back now." Yami frowned, turning away toward the window.

"Don't you care at all Kaiba?" Yami asked, his face blank.

"No," Kaiba said, hesitating a little.

He frowned once more._ 'But why,' _Yami thought, _'why wouldn't Sadiki tell anything to us about this balance? What is disturbing it? Why is it so important. . . that we leave?'_

_'Yami, I'm worried. It's obvious that Sadiki doesn't want to tell us something. But what is it?' _Yugi asked in mind link, looking worried.

_'What that something is. . . Frightens me the most,' _Yami replied, absentmindedly reaching into his jacket pocket to take something out.

"Please buckle your seat belts ladies and gentlemen. We shall be taking off for Japan in just a few minutes," the intercom said throughout the airplane. Yami blinked as he felt something in his pocket. Something velvety. The engines started.

He took it out and found a handkerchief in his hand. Yami's mouth stayed intact, unable to speak. The cloth. . . He moved it around until he reached the corner with the insignia on it. There, he saw something that was somewhat familiar. Yami squinted at it for a moment. Suddenly his eyes shot open wide, shocked at what he saw.

There was a bird and pyramid behind it on the insignia.

_'T-the Enari Crest!!' _Yami thought, heart beating fast. _'But how. . ?' _A spark went through his ruby eyes as he remembered what Sadiki said.

Sadiki of the Enari Family. Apis Enari. . .

_'H-he was the one. . . who dug up her grave!' _Yugi gasped. _'Of course! How come we never saw it before? This crest was on the invitation he sent to us!' _Quickly Yami dug out his invitation in his pocket and compared the two items. He found the same identical crest. _'Ishizu knew this too! She couldn't tell us because those twins bumped into us just as she was about to explain!'_

_'And if Sadiki said that something was disturbing the balance, and that we needed to leave Aura to his care. . .' _Yami thought slowly.

_'The disturbance is Apis Enari!!'_

Yami looked out the window and saw that the plane was slowly rising up to the sky. No. . . Yami banged his fists against the window.

"NOO!!"

. . .

A motorcycle sped across sand dunes as dusk was upon them. The person driving it was also with someone else, holding her tight as they went across another dune. It would have been silent that night had not for the rumbling engine of the bike. The woman with the cyclist looked up at the man through her helmet, coughing a little. The motorcycle started to go faster as light began to grow in front of them.

"S-S-Sadiki, where are we g-going?" **A** whispered, shivering while stifling a yawn at the same time. Sadiki held her close as he stopped his bike toward a clump of huts. People who were before dancing around the powerful fire had now stopped, staring at the newcomer. The Nubians' skin gleamed with the color gold against the flames, watching him. Some whispered amongst themselves, the elderly alarmed.

Sadiki took off his helmet and **A**'s helmet and scanned the crowd, saying, "Somewhere safe, **A.** Somewhere safe."

_To be continued. . ._


	13. Kill

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer/Authoress Note: ............ Snapper Whips

Chapter 13: Kill

"Please!" Yugi cried out, banging his fists against the counter. "I need a ticket back to Egypt right now!"

The woman on the counter shook her head. "I'm sorry sir," she replied, going back to her computer, "but you took a private one way flight from Egypt to Japan. There's no way you can go back unless you pay."

"Then I'll pay!" he shouted, taking out a wallet and counting all his yen. "How much is it?"

"30,000 yen," she answered, staring at him skeptically. His mouth dropped open, counting only one or three yen in his wallet. "I believe you're not carrying that amount around." The woman then turned to the next person in line, ignoring Yugi completely. He fumed, but walked away in defeat as his friends ran over to him.

"Yugi, why are you trying to get back to Egypt?" Joey asked, lugging his suitcase behind him. "We just got back, ya know."

"Speaking of which, I bet Kaiba went straight back to America the moment he stepped off the plane," said Tristan, raising an eyebrow and carrying his knapsack over one shoulder. Yugi sighed heavily, unsure of what to do.

"Are you okay Yugi?" Tea asked worriedly, playing with her fingers. "You were acting really weird on the trip back."

"Yes," Ryou agreed, "is there something you need to tell us?"

Yugi sighed. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. But what else to do? He's going to have to explain it sooner or later.

"I'll tell you on the ride back," Yugi muttered, walking over to the taxi waiting for them. His friends were confused, but eventually followed the spiky haired boy with suspicions.

. . .

"Ah," Solomon Moto remarked, watching Yugi and friends coming out of the taxi with tired faces, "back so soon? Have you won already, Yugi?" He laughed happily, walking over and giving a hug to his grandson. "Did you enjoy Egypt?"

Yugi looked at his friends over Solomon's shoulder. They still had the shocked faces, still unable to let the information of Apis Enari to sink in. _'Why would he do it? Why would Apis Enari want so much for this "balance" to be unstable? And most importantly, what is it.' _Yugi shook his head and embraced his grandfather, thinking that he should think about this another time.

"Just fine, Grandpa, just fine," he exclaimed, putting on a fake smile. But Solomon had seen through it, just as he had done before. He is Yugi's grandfather, of course he would see.

"W-Well," muttered Joey, grinning nervously, "I guess we all. . . err. . . Hafta go home now."

"Yeah," Tea said slowly, walking away. "See ya later Yugi."

"Bye," Yugi murmured as they walked away with small waves. Another time, another place. They can talk about it later. He turned toward his grandfather, seeing Solomon watch him with suspicious eyes.

"Let's go inside and talk, my son," Solomon murmured, walking inside the Kame Game store. "We must discuss about your trip." Yugi gave out a sigh and nodded, following him inside. Walking into the living room, Solomon handed Yugi a cup of green tea, as they both sat down opposite of each other, sipping at their cups.

Yugi was the first to speak. "Grandpa, something weird happened in Egypt," he started, looking away. "I. . . I don't know why, but somehow we got all caught up in this stupid mess about the Pharaoh and Aura and Apis Enari and these weird boatmen, and I don't know what I can do about it. I felt so helpless, I mean, what can I do in a situation like this. . ." He continued on without stopping, unable to stop the flow of his thoughts.

Solomon raised his hand, silencing Yugi. "My dear boy," he said, "I know exactly what you are going through." Yugi stared at him in surprise, dropping his cup to the table.

"You. . . you do?" he whispered.

Solomon nodded, standing up and taking the broom leaning against the wall in his hands, lightly passing it back and forth with his fingers. "You're scared. Yugi, you aren't sure of what's happening right now, and everything is going so fast you aren't even sure if it's even happening." Back and forth, the broom went. "But it is. All too quickly. First it was solving the Puzzle, and then finding the Pharaoh and now this. What is next? You don't know. All you wish for is to have an ordinary life. But you can't, Yugi, because you are not an ordinary child."

He stopped, staring at the broom in his hands. Yugi was silent, not able to know how to respond. "You are an extraordinary child," Solomon whispered, shadows covering his face. "So extraordinary, that you can even become a threat. A threat too big to handle."

Yugi began to feel scared. His grandpa doesn't act like this. . .

"And now that Aura has returned, you have become even more of a threat," Solomon murmured, not moving.

That was when Yugi realized that something was wrong. "Grandpa, I never told you that Aura was alive. How did you--"

Solomon sped towards Yugi and slapped the broom against his neck as Yugi collapsed against the wall, gasping for air. As he looked into Solomon's eyes, he saw that they were colorless and blank. His own eyes widened. He was being controlled. . .

"G-Grandp-pa?" he gasped, coughing and spitting out drops of blood.

**"_Die Pharaoh," _**Solomon hissed, pressing harder. Yugi struggled for air, screaming Yami's name at the top of his lungs. But he didn't come.

He didn't come.

. . .

Kaiba stepped out of the limo, staring up to the Kaiba Mansion.

"It's been awhile since we've been here, huh Seto?" Mokuba said, walking beside his brother. Kaiba was silent but nodded in response, staring at the massive building. So many memories were passing through his head now, back from the time of Gozoburo Kaiba and when he first took control of Kaiba Corp. Kaiba smirked in spite of himself. Ah, sweet victory.

"Let's go Mokuba," Kaiba said, striding towards the entrance of the Kaiba Mansion. Mokuba nodded and quickly followed, the limo parked outside the gates.

He looked around the garden. _'No one has been tending to it as I thought,'_ Kaiba frowned. _'I guess I'll be making a few phone calls today then.' _Kaiba fought the urge to mutter "fools" as he stepped inside his home.

Everything was still in place, he saw, staring at the ceiling. Moving his finger along the table, he saw that the mansion was cleaned and dusted. Good. One less thing for the servants to worry about. Brushing his trench coat, Kaiba then walked into the resting room. Yes, everything was there. Nothing was stolen. Not wanting to give a full scan, Kaiba then announced, "Kaiba Mansion has been well taken care of this last year, don't you agree Mokuba?" He turned around to find his little brother missing. "Mokuba?"

Suddenly a click was heard in the room to his right. Kaiba walked straight into it, not bothering to knock on the door. His eyes widened as he saw what Mokuba was doing.

Carrying a knife, Mokuba sat on the velvet chair, plunging the blade into the armrest. But that wasn't what Kaiba was worried about. Something about Mokuba's face, his eyes, and his consistent plunging of the blade made a chill go down his spine. Soft classical music was played in the background as Mokuba looked up and stared at his brother blankly.

He turned away as he murmured, "Brings back memories, doesn't it Seto?" Kaiba didn't respond.

Mokuba smirked, the same way Kaiba had done before. "So many memories. . . Good and bad, you know. But no matter what, you helped me through all of them. You, big brother, protected me from everything." The smile disappeared. "Well, almost everything." Kaiba's eyebrows furrowed; what is he talking about?

His face held a hint of boredom as he said dully, "You didn't protect me from _her_, Seto. That's why I almost died last year. And the strange thing was. . ." Mokuba stared at the cutting knife. "You didn't even notice."

Kaiba's eyes widened. "What are you talking about Mokuba? You used to adore Aura, and now suddenly you resent her? You didn't die last year; you're still here right now!" he yelled out, not sure why he suddenly got so jumpy.

Mokuba rose from the chair, staring at the knife. Kaiba was silent. What was wrong with him?

"Have you ever felt like you wanted to die?" Mokuba whispered, staring at his brother with helpless eyes. Kaiba felt a jab towards his stomach.

With a trembling hand, he looked to his feet and murmured quietly, "Yes."

Mokuba grinned. "Good," he said, his voice changing. Kaiba looked up in surprise just as Mokuba slashed him straight across the chest. He moved back just in time, leaning against the door. Wiggling the door handle, he saw that he was locked in.

"Mokuba, what the heck is wrong with you?" Kaiba cried out, his trench coat in shreds.

Mokuba slashed again, screaming to the top of his lungs, **"Die Priest!" **

Kaiba braced for the attack, not knowing what to do. _'Why is this happening?' _he thought, staring at the knife going closer and closer.

Sadiki jumped out to Mokuba and wrestled the knife out of his hand as they landed on the ground, hissing at each other and spitting out ugly words. Kaiba stared at this in surprise, wondering how in the world the rat got there. Mokuba's face was twisted in fury, screaming, **"Get out, you fool!! This is none of your business!!"**

"We had a deal!" he yelled out, raising a fist. "No killing!!" Sadiki punched him in the face as Kaiba's eyes widened in anger. He pounced on Sadiki with a roar, Sadiki caught in surprise.

"No one hits my little brother!!" he yelled, punching Sadiki in the face. He dodged a few, but got hit also.

"F-Fool! Stop it!" Sadiki said, trying not to hurt Kaiba. "Don't you know that I'm trying to save you, you idiot?" Kaiba didn't care; no one hurts Mokuba, ever. What kind of brother would he be if he stood by and watched that happen?

Sadiki kicked Kaiba off of him, standing up and carrying the Millennium Orb. Mokuba and Kaiba both gasped; how did he get that? "Stupid snobs," he muttered. "Hey Fates! Get out of the kid, right now!! It's too late, anyway! He already knows now! And. . ." Sadiki glared at Mokuba. "You know you can't kill me!"

Mokuba sneered, saying, **"Very well, Protector. . ." **A misty substance flew out of Mokuba as she whispered, **"But you can't protect all of them forever. . ." **Mokuba fell to the ground.

Kaiba ran over to his little brother as he coughed and spat out for air, standing on his hands and knees. Mokuba tried to ask what happened, but felt to weak to do so. Kaiba put his tired brother on his back as he stared at the Egyptian, glaring at his feet.

"It's just like them," he muttered, wearing his hood, "to kill anyone they can't work with. Just like before. . . Luckily for you, I was here just in time." He turned toward Kaiba. "Where is Yugi Moto?"

"At the game shop," he muttered, staring at him angrily. "Why?"

Sadiki ignored the last question, saying, "Very well." He flashed out a scroll and murmured a few incantations, and disappeared completely. Kaiba gasped, wondering what was really going on.

_'One way to find out,' _Kaiba thought. Quickly he took off his shredded trench coat and carried Mokuba to the chair, placing him on there and whispering, "I'll be back, little brother."

Kaiba then ran off towards the game shop, not knowing what he might face.

. . .

Yugi felt his vision disappearing. How long can he hang on? _'Yami, where are you. . ?' _he thought, his eyes rolling back. Looking down, he finally understood why.

Somehow Solomon took off the Millennium Puzzle. _'Oh good,' _he thought, closing his eyes. _'For a moment I thought he left me. . .' _Is he really going to die? _'Well, I guess I'll soon find out. . .' _

**"Pharaoh, you must die," **Solomon whispered. **"For the sake of this world. . ."** He pressed harder, Yugi's windpipe failing.

A staff fell straight to Solomon's side as he screamed in pain and fell to his knees, cursing under his breath. Yugi gasped for air, collapsing to the ground in a heaving heap of gasps.

Sadiki came forward and handed Yugi his Millennium Puzzle. "You might need to wear that," he advised, putting the Puzzle around his neck. The moment it touched Yugi's skin the Puzzle glowed, and immediately Yami stepped out, breathing hard also.

"Th-Thank Ra," he cried out, holding onto his neck, "that Yugi is safe." He almost lost him. He can't do that again. Yami looked up and finally saw Sadiki. "Sadiki? How. . . How did you come here? And so quickly?"

"We can't speak of that now, Pharaoh!" Sadiki urged, pulling on his arm. "We have to get you to safety! Kaiba was already in danger!" Yami's eyes widened; Kaiba? Suddenly that very person ran into the room, seeing that the danger already passed.

"Are you okay, Yugi?" he asked formally, glaring at him in his usual way. Yami nodded, but before anyone could say anything, a misty substance flew out of Solomon, giving a menacing laugh.

**"Sadiki," **the Fate murmured, stepping in front of him, **"Do you really believe. . . That you can stop us?" **Sadiki didn't reply.

"I don't know," he muttered, Yami and Kaiba awe-struck.

The Fate was silent. **"This is for the world's sake. Why, do you wish to stop us?"**

Sadiki's fist trembled as he answered back, "Because it's not right! There is too much killing! Why do you have to increase it?"

**"You have such a caring heart," **the Fate whispered, stroking his cheek with her hand. Sadiki shuttered; her hand was so cold. **"You so wish to save everyone, no matter how much you dislike them. But tell me, my child, if you are here protecting the Pharaoh and Priest. . . who, may I ask, is protecting the Priestess?" **Sadiki's eyes widened. Aura. . .

**"You should have done your job,"** the Fate continued, **"and now my sister Fate, has killed her."**

"What?" Yami yelled out, standing to his feet.

"But why?" Kaiba asked in anger.

**"My Pharaoh, it is just as I told you,"** the Fate replied. **"You are so extraordinary, that you even became a threat."**

Sadiki's hands curled into fists, saying in a controlled voice, "You. . . You monster! Don't you dare touch her!"

The Fate gave a smile, but before she could say anything, she felt a jab towards her. She shuttered, her eyes widening. **"Sister. . ." **She then disappeared, Sadiki fuming.

"Get back here, you murdering pigs!" Sadiki yelled out. "What have you done to Aura?" He took out his scroll and tried to murmur an incantation, but nothing happened. Sadiki tried again, but it didn't work. Yami and Kaiba stared in stunned silence. "You. . . You fiends!! I'll get you, you lying dogs!!"

The Millennium Orb glowed dully in the sunlight.

. . .

**A** slept soundly in the straw hut, a Nubian girl watching her quietly. Taking her hand, the girl gasped as she saw that strange scar on both of her wrists. Then the girl giggled, tracing the scar with her little finger. **A** gave a little groan, but fell asleep once more, her face matted with sweat. The sun was beating down the little Nubian village, filled with busy people and merry laughs.

An elder placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder, saying quietly, "Tis time for the woman to sleep, child."

"Who is she, father?" the child asked, touching her skin. "She is so strange. . . But she seems so familiar. . ."

The elder smiled and replied quietly, "Do you remember the woman we elders spoke of in our stories? The woman who save the first child to this village?" The girl nodded.

He smiled. "This is her," he whispered, his hand waving over **A**'s body. The girl gasped and jumped up and down in the air, obviously excited. Putting his finger to his lips, he continued, "Now can I trust you, child, to keep this woman's secret safe and sound?"

"Yes father, yes! I will tell no one!" she exclaimed, as they both laughed and walked out of the hut. Nodding to the elder, a Nubian woman stepped into the hut with a wash bowl and cloth, staring at **A** quietly. The moment she thought it was clear, she took a small dagger out of the rags she carried, sitting down and raising the blade. Her eyes were colorless, blank, just as Solomon and Mokuba's was when they were controlled.

**"Good bye, Priestess," **she murmured, raising the dagger, ready to strike.

Suddenly a hand stopped the plunge, as the Fate looked into the hand's owner. Gasping, she cried out, **"You!! But how? You are suppose to be--"**

A scream was heard throughout the village, and when they entered **A**'s hut, they found a dead body and an empty bed.

To Be Continued. . .

Hi. Yeah, finally updated. So who is this person? Is it Apis Enari? Is it the crew? Or is it someone else. . ?


	14. Her

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: . . . . Calcium

Chapter 14: Her

Sadiki was silent as Yami and Kaiba were at the front of the jet airplane, Kaiba barking orders into his head set. He wore his violet trench coat, his white one torn into shreds before. At the time they decided to leave their friends and family in Domino; it wouldn't be safe for them to follow. Yami turned around and found Sadiki glaring at the window, but something about the way he was staring helplessly outside made Yami feel pity for him.

"So," Kaiba muttered, putting the plane on auto pilot, "can you fill us in on why my brother went ballistic on me?" Yami glanced at him, silent.

Sadiki frowned, saying, "The Fates were controlling them."

"No doubt about that," Kaiba said, rolling his eyes, "but who are they?"

"Yes," Yami murmured, "and why do they want to kill us?"

Sadiki bit his lip as he replied, "I. . . I don't know who they are. I don't even know why they want to kill you. When they first told me about you two, I thought they wanted you _alive_. Guess not. But that's not what really worries me. Aura. . . She's like a daughter to them. Why would they want _her_ dead?" At that point Sadiki glared at Kaiba, continuing, "Can't this hunk of junk move any faster?"

"Don't complain. This 'hunk of junk' is the only thing stopping us from falling into the Indian Ocean," Kaiba stated, taking his head set off. "It's the fastest in my fleet; we'll be arriving in less than an hour."

"That's not fast enough," he muttered, "I have to get to her now!"

"But where did you leave her?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow. "And why did you think that it was such a safe place?" Sadiki stopped his complaints; he stared at Yami with a surprised face.

"You mean. . . You don't know?" Sadiki said slowly, looking hard into his eyes. As Yami didn't reply, Sadiki sighed angrily and swiftly turned away, saying, "Well, I should have known."

Yami glanced at Kaiba, giving him a funny look. Kaiba thought the same thing. This man may know more than he's giving them. When Sadiki stood and left to the bathroom, Kaiba glanced at Yami and said quietly, "He never answered your question."

"I know," Yami sighed, leaning back on his chair, "everything is repeating itself."

Kaiba stroked his chin. "Do you think street rat over there knows more than he's telling us?" he asked.

"It is a possibility," Yami spoke, "that he may have more personal issues to this than he lets on." Kaiba agreed, but in each of their minds, they thought of how similar their situation was to the year before. Yami remembered the first time Aura and himself spoke to each other, in that plane going to Egypt, just as they were going now. She said that all she knew of was already told to him. Sadiki says the same thing. But then again. . .

'_She did die last year, didn't she?'_ Yugi thought, sitting down on the floor of his soul room. _'I mean, how can she be alive again? It's impossible, isn't it?' _What a silly question. After all the things he had seen, he should know that there is no such word as impossible. _'Well, there must be a reason, a motive to why she was brought back. Did Aura have unfinished business? Or is it. . . Something else?'_

Suddenly Yugi remembered the dream he had before.

_Yami was on the ground, his blank eyes staring at him. Yugi turned to see a strange form in the darkness, its colorless eyes filled with uttermost sadness. In its hands were the shattered pieces of the Millennium Orb, a few scattered about the floor. Yugi turned back to see that a misty substance was slowly coming out of Yami and into the strange form, its eyes growing with pain. When Yugi tried to reach Yami, he suddenly disappeared, as Yugi stared at the empty space with horror. Turning around, he saw that the form took in Yami also. Yugi stared at the form with glistening, angry eyes._

"Give him back!!" he screamed, running toward the form. Suddenly another dark form appeared, and in its hands was the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi gasped. "No!! That's mine, you freak! Give it to me!!"

The other form dropped the Millennium Puzzle, shattering into pieces. Yugi screamed as he wavered into the darkness.

Yugi shivered. He didn't want that to happen. Standing up, he stared at a picture frame with no picture. Picking it up, he sighed with a heavy heart and wondered, _'Why does this happen?'_

A little voice responded to him. _Because it does, _it whispered.

Apis Enari grinned as he saw the two figures on his map moving towards Egypt. It was moving inch by inch, but the travel was noticeable. He popped a grape into his mouth, his finger moving down on the scroll upon his lap. It was myths of Egyptian Gods and all their heroic moments, of their triumphs and losses, of their joys and sorrows. It went down to many gods and goddesses, Atum-Ra, Seth, Anubis, Apep. . .

_'Ah,' _Apis thought, his finger stopping at a name, _'There you are. . .' _He smirked, now eating a red apple. _'My dear Sekhmet. . .'_

A foot step attracted Apis's attention, making him look up from his reading and say, "Ah, Bakura, back so soon?"

Bakura the tomb robber frowned and tossed the blood stained dagger across the table, saying, "The only obstacle was the Fate killing the girl. And the old man, but he wasn't hard to kill off." But something in his voice told Apis that Bakura had guilt.

"Of course," Apis grinned, secretly placing his scroll away. "Well, did you put the mask on her?"

Bakura nodded, murmuring, "Yes, but I still don't see the meaning for it. Why does she need it on?"

Apis gave him the kind of look people give when they have a secret they won't share. "No questions. You remember the deal, do you not?" He turned away, walking towards the large window. Pressing a button the blackened window suddenly turned clear, over looking a large room filled with duelists who lost in previous duels of the Osiris Tournament.

"I remember," Bakura said angrily, "but I won't become your puppet."

Apis turned, and the look he gave to Bakura made shivers crawl down his spine, as if the very dead were prickling their fingers all over his back. "Do not forget fool," Apis said dangerously, turning back to the window, "I gave you _life, _and I can take it away."

Bakura was silent.

Staring at the moving figurines on the map, Apis ordered to Bakura, "You and the other meet the Pharaoh and Priest at the village. They shall be arriving soon."

"Shall I bring. . . _her?_" Bakura asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes," Apis murmured, "she's the only way we can get the Pharaoh. Besides, she's on our side now." Bakura glared at him, but bowed a stiff bow and walked away, closing the door behind him.

Taking out a cell phone, he dialed a number and said, "Netiri, lets show our guests a good time, shall we?" He flipped it off, giving a devious smile towards the unsuspected duelists eating at their tables. "Fools."

_'Ugh, where am I?' _**A **thought, her eyes opening slowly. But she couldn't see anything, there was darkness everywhere. _'I don't remember this. . .'_

She touched her face and felt a hard, cold mouth mask on her face, her fingers making clinking sounds against it. _'Oh god, what is this?!'_

Suddenly **A** felt her body go down, turning this way and that like a scared mouse. She felt faint; it was so hot. Leaning back, **A** found her back stopped on a curved wall. What in the world? She closed her eyes, thinking that it was a dream. '_Yeah, that's right, a dream. I'm gonna wake up in my bed with Chike and Chuma rubbing me awake, Zuka asking me to help him with a hack, Badru ordering me to swing the blade harder, Adio giving me a swig of his ale, and Sadiki watching the sunset with me. . .'_

Her body jerked to a stop, quickly sitting up and looking around. There were many people in the chamber, all staring at her with mouths full of food. _'Why are they staring?' _She touched her clothes, feeling and seeing a ceremonial Egyptian garment around her body. She was high above the ground, and yet something was keeping her from falling._ 'What's going on?'_

A chant. She heard a chant. It was slow and ear splitting, but much to her amazement, it didn't faze her at all. Feeling sleepy, waves of lightness absorbed into her. **A** eyes closed. Her body shivered as she thought, _'Sadiki. . . Help me. . .' _ The mask on her face suddenly fell, and as she breathed in for the first time, her eyes opened with a blazing color of red.

_Release the Destroyer!!_

A low moan filled the air as the screams of the duelists followed it, a stream of lights flying towards one direction. Apis smiled and sipped his tea, thinking it was too plain. He turned around and added more sugar cubes as the madness continued on, and as suddenly as it started, it stopped, no screams heard.

**A **moaned, her eyes opening slowly. But before she saw the duelists' still bodies, lying on the ground, her right eye, her only sight to the world, began to darken. It continued darkening, little by little. . .

Until she could see no more.

The jet plane landed on the soft desert sand as Sadiki quickly jumped out, running out towards the hot land. Yami and Kaiba followed, but wondered why he was running so quickly to nowhere. There was no human habitation in sight, just miles and miles of sand dunes. They must be in the Great Sand Sea.

Sadiki continued running, Kaiba and Yami hot on his tail. But neither of the men knew when to stop, or when they'll reach their destination. The Egyptian ran with such impatient steps that it made Kaiba realize how determined he was to protect Aura. Yami knew this also, and wondered what the reason for this determination was.

Suddenly Sadiki stopped, his stance deathly still. As Yami and Kaiba stood by him, they realized why, gasping in horror.

The Nubian village that once was filled with busy and happy people now was surrounded with collapsed bodies, the air still. Sadiki gulped down his fears and broke into a run, the sand kicking behind him. Yami couldn't understand; what happened?

Kaiba bent down to a Nubian and flipped him over, the sight making his eyebrows raise. "Yugi," he said. Yami turned around and bent down beside him, gaping at what he saw. The man's face was twisted in agony and fear. Kaiba checked his pulse. "He's. . . He's not dead."

"But," Yami said, looking around, "these people. . . What happened to them?" Kaiba didn't answer. As Yami turned, he found Sadiki bent over to another man, praying. Kaiba and Yami stood and walked over to him, to find him sitting before an elderly man, a puddle of blood surrounding him. This man, unlike the others, was dead. Kaiba stared at him with no emotions.

Sadiki looked up with sad eyes, saying quietly, "This man was a friend of mine. . . He. . . He shouldn't have died. . ." Sadiki turned away, his body shaking.

Yami bent down and stared at the necklace around the man's neck, seeing the strange symbol on it. He tilted his head, something in the back of his mind suddenly twitching. It looked so familiar. . . Yami reached out to touch it.

Suddenly the man's hand shot up and grabbed Yami's wrist as Sadiki and Kaiba both looked up in surprise. "Elder!" Sadiki cried out.

"P-Pharaoh. . ." he whispered with a trembling hand, "He took her. . . He took her. . ."

"What?" Yami asked, leaning closer.

The Elder coughed, spitting out drops of blood. With weary eyes he continued, "She's in. . . She's in. . ."

"Elder, what are you saying?" Sadiki asked, his hands curling into fists.

"She's in. . . The Heart of a Pearl. . ." he gasped out, sighing and lain down once more. "The Heart. . . of a Pearl. . ." Then, with a slow smile, the Elder died, his grip on Yami's wrist disappearing, until his hand fell to the sand. Yami stared at his hand, then at that familiar symbol. He took the necklace around his neck, and Sadiki made no complaint. Kaiba stared at the body slowly.

"The Heart of a Pearl?" Kaiba murmured. "What is that?" Sadiki didn't have time to answer; the breeze increased and whirled the sand into the air, impossible for anyone to see. Suddenly an arrow swished passed him, a mere inch away from his face. Yami jumped up and got in a ready stance.

His face filled with anger, Sadiki yelled out, "Who's there?!"

The sand settled. And slowly, three other figures appeared in the disappearing sand. As it finally became clear, what Kaiba saw made his eyes widen in surprise. There, beside the two shadowed figures, was a mirror image of himself, wearing all dark clothing. But Kaiba didn't understand; if he was here, why was he there?

But that wasn't all. On the other side of the shadowed figure, Bakura appeared, smirking, his clothes dark also. Yami gasped. _'But he was supposed to be dead!!'_

"Who in the world are they?!" Kaiba yelled out, suddenly angry. Sadiki was silent for a moment.

"The people of the past," Sadiki murmured. But how were they back to life once more? Yami stared at him in shock, clutching the necklace tight. Sadiki glared at the last person; somehow he still couldn't see him.

Set turned toward the person and said, "Your aim has not changed, Maeve."

The dust settled, and in its place was Maeve, the Priestess. Sadiki and Kaiba gasped in surprise as Yami stood up, not believing it himself. A bow was in her hand, an arrow ready to launch. Her eyes sparkled with a blazing fury, her dark clothing rustling with the wind.

"S-Sister?" Yami said, walking forward. She shot out an arrow towards him as he jumped away in time, staring at her with surprise. Taking out another arrow, she launched it towards Sadiki as he flew away, the arrow piercing the Millennium Orb to the ground. Sadiki stared at it, then back at Maeve with bewildered eyes. Kaiba continued to stare at the three with disbelief. This can't be happening. . .

"Don't move," she said, ready to launch the next arrow. "Don't touch the Orb."

To Be Continued. . .

Err. . . Tell me what you think.


	15. A Healer's Soul

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: . . . . Calcium Deficiency

Chapter 15: A Healer's Soul

Egypt: 3000 years ago

Priestess Maeve tapped the writing reed in her hand against the hard wood table, staring at the blank papyrus in front of her. Priest Set stared at her through his tent of fingers, his eyebrows slanted downwards. Pharaoh Atemu's lips were curled in a frown, his fingers twitching with anticipation. Slowly she lifted the writing reed and dipped it in the black ink, lifted, and pressed it against the ancient paper, writing a few hieroglyphics upon it surface, spelling out the word 'lioness'.

The moment she slipped the papyrus to her brother, Atemu took it in his hands and cried out, "Sekhmet! The Eye of Ra!"

"Sekhmet! Fed on the blood of mortals upon Ra's command!" Set finished as the men both heaved a sigh and leaned back against their chairs, satisfied. Maeve stared at them amusingly as the statue of Sekhmet stood at the center of the table, her fierce lion eyes peering straight at them as if they were the statues.

"Need you speak so loudly? 'Tis not a contest, friends," she murmured, sipping wine out of a goblet. Atemu and Set stared at each other competitively, their eyes whispering a dare. Maeve stopped and stared at them wryly, saying, "Brother, if you think of another chariot race this evening, I shall tear your arm in half."

"Oh, never Maeve," he replied in a teasing tone, grinning and sipping his own wine.

"Why would you possibly think that?" Set exclaimed, playing with one of the rings on his fingers. Maeve glanced at them angrily.

"Do you not remember the last chariot race you rode in? Poor Set was beaten terribly in the outcome. I had to clean his wounds for days, months even." She murmured, her eyes flashing a warning towards Atemu. He shrugged, smirking.

"I would have beaten you," Set said, "if I was not preoccupied at the time."

"My friend," Atemu replied, "I can beat you if I had a lion on my back and water beneath my feet." They continued arguing as Maeve sighed once more, but content with the way her life was going now.

_'It is finally right,' _she thought, smiling at the sight of her little brother. _'The killings have stopped, the priests of the Millennium Items have been found. My promise has finally been accomplished.' _Maeve looked down upon her wrists, seeing those scars that were made from that strange Shadow Monster. _'My life here is over. Tis now the time to find that creature. . . and find out what he is.' _

The double doors clicked open as the three stared up in surprise, seeing Maeve's servant, Ava, appear at its doorstep. She bowed and murmured, "Pharaoh Atemu, Priest Set, the throne room acquires your presence. Another ordering from the priests of the Millennium Items is needed."

Atemu's eyes widened, looking to his sister. She continued drinking her wine, that blank mask sliding into place. "Maeve. . ."

She placed the goblet down and smiled wryly at him, saying, "I will be _fine_ Yami. I _sealed _the creature away in the Ritual long ago; you should know. I know you were there, hiding behind the obelisk." She grinned at him but Atemu frowned, not liking it at all.

"You will not come," he ordered, glaring at his sister. "Maeve, you are in no condition of healing right now!" Set nodded as he stood with the Pharaoh, the Priestess staring at them dumbfounded.

"The Pharaoh is right; you have been _sick_, Maeve, ever since that monster appeared out of your body, and that was years ago! We will not let you get hurt again." Set replied, his tone giving an air of superiority. Maeve's face flushed red with anger, standing to her feet.

"I am a healer! Of course I shall get hurt, it is my job! As a healer I must sacrifice myself!" she shouted out, servants from every side listening into the argument.

"Maeve, do not toy with me!" Atemu yelled out. "You are the _only _healer, in this entire kingdom – no, in this entire _world_ - who uses her own ba to heal people! Do you not realize that with every person you heal you are killing yourself?!"

"I _know _I am killing myself!" Maeve cried out, her blank façade disappearing. "Do you take me for a fool, Atemu?! I do this not for fame; I do it because I _can_!"

"Enough! You will not attend this presence, do you understand? I _command_ you!" Atemu ordered, his ruby eyes flaring. Set stared at Maeve with sad eyes, seeing her mask slowly breaking.

"You cannot control me, Atemu!" she yelled out as he walked away from her, Set following slowly behind. "You will not treat me the same way Father did!"

Atemu looked behind his shoulder, staring at her hard. Then, turning towards the old Ava, he murmured, "Do not let her leave her chambers." With those words he slammed the doors closed before Maeve had eye contact with Set, murmuring an apology towards his teacher.

Maeve's hands shook as they curled into fists, cursing under her breath. She slammed them against the wooden table, screaming, "You fiend! You will never understand!!" She crumbled to the floor as she wept tears, Ava walking forward and patting her back. "Ava, why won't anyone understand?" Ava hushed her, patting her back softly.

Suddenly Maeve shook, coughing violently. "Ava, the potion. . ." Immediately Ava stood and ran to the small table next to them, quickly grabbing an elixir and giving it to the Priestess. Maeve coughed once more, spewing out blood. Taking the elixir, she opened it quickly and dumped the contents inside her mouth, mixing in with the blood. Her body stopped shaking; the scars on her wrists eased of burning. She sighed and leaned back, her eyes filled with pain.

"Mistress," the old woman whispered, taking her on her back and walking to the bed, "you must rest." She rested Maeve on the piles of cloths and ushered her to sleep. As she was all prepared, Maeve stared to the balcony across from her.

"Ava," she murmured, her eyes closing, "I'm tired of living. . ."

With those words she fell asleep, never wanting to wake up.

Night

It was nighttime as the shadow crept up to the balcony, landing with a thud against the hard marble floor. His golden eyes stared at the sleeping figure in front of him as he silently approached Maeve, breathing in and out softly. The scar on his face itched as he brushed his white hair out of eyes, slowly taking her in his arms and backing away quietly. He jumped down the balcony and landed on his feet, walking towards the horse nearby.

As the man jumped on and began to ride, Maeve opened her eyes and stared up into the man's face wearily. He made no comment towards this; he knew she was going to wake. Sighing, Maeve whispered, "Atemu, I am sorry. . ." She thought that the man was the Pharaoh. Laughing, the man hiked the horse as it began galloping out into the desert.

Morning

Atemu stopped as he approached the doors to the Training Hall, where Maeve goes every morning to teach Set. He sighed as he stared at the doors, wondering how Maeve felt about their argument. _'We never fight. . . Tell her you are sorry.' _Atemu nodded to himself, feeling that this was just a petty argument. Smiling, he opened the door and said happily, "Good morning Maeve, Set! How are you to--?"

Set was standing in the center of the hall in his battle tunic, pacing back and forth in the room. Atemu raised an eyebrow as he saw that Set was the only one in the room. Maeve was no where to be found. Set stopped as he saw Atemu, quickly bowing and asked slowly, "Have you seen Maeve? She has not appeared all morning." Atemu stared at his friend strangely; all morning? That's odd.

"She cannot be so bothered by our argument that she would not attend your lessons, would she?" wondered the Pharaoh, troubled. Suddenly he heard frantic cries outside the hall. Raising an eyebrow, he turned and stared as the old woman Ava began running back and forth, waving one hand in the air and holding an elixir in the other.

When she saw the Pharaoh, Ava dashed towards him and cried out, "Your highness! Has my mistress passed these halls?!"

The Pharaoh raised his eyebrows, saying, "Not that I know of. Is something amiss?" Ava's eyes widened; the elixir in her hand almost dropped to the floor.

"Slave," The Priest murmured, leaning on the heavy golden door, "has your mistress left her chambers? I have not seen her face since the day before." Ava began muttering under her breath, rubbing the strange symbol on her necklace continuously.

Finally she looked up, almost screaming, "My Pharaoh! Maeve, she's gone! She was not in her chambers where I left her!"

"Yes? My dear woman, Maeve is old enough to care for herself," Atemu said annoyingly, wanting to get the hag's nagging out of the way.

"You do not understand!" she pleaded, almost falling to her knees. "My mistress has been sick again during the night! She did not take her second dose of the elixir!"

Atemu's eyes widened in horror, feeling as if time had stopped. Set stood from his place and walked towards the woman, shaking her and screaming, but Atemu couldn't hear. _'In order for Maeve to survive these attacks, she must have two doses of the special elixir she made. If she does not take the second one, she will. . .' _Atemu didn't even want to think it. Immediately he ran away to the courtyard, Set yelling out his name.

The moment he stepped outside he screamed to the top of his lungs, yelling, "Sister!! Where are you?!"

Later

"Unnh," Maeve groaned, staring at the strange man holding her body, taking her to a small hut. "Fool, unhand me. . ." He smirked at her as several dark skinned people passed, staring at the woman walking towards the sacred place. Painfully Maeve turned her head, sweat beading down her forehead. A Nubian village. _'I need my elixir. . .'_

Suddenly he dropped her to the ground, Maeve's body curling in pain. She looked up angrily at the man, saying, "Tis unwise to drop a woman such as myself so easily. . ."

He smirked once more, looking at the elderly man across from her and bowing his head, saying, "Elder, she is here." Maeve looked up into the man's face in the sunlight, remembering who he was. Her eyes widened in surprise as she thought, _'The thief I healed long ago.'_

The Elder nodded, saying in a dry, crackly voice, "Thank you, Bakura." The old man then turned toward Maeve on the ground, taking her hand and pleading, "Please help us, Healer."

Maeve stared at him, seeing the genuine sadness in his eyes. "But how can I--" she started as two Nubian woman took out a wrapped figure in front of her. Her green eyes widened and sparkled, staring at the Elder with surprise. "Thief. . . Is this what you brought me here for?" He nodded, the familiar smirk disappeared from his face. She turned her attention back to the Elder, saying, "Is this what you wish for me to do?"

He nodded. Maeve stared at the figure before her, seeing the dark pearl clutched in the boy's tiny hand. She could feel the dark aura enveloped around the pearl and the baby, so strong that in her condition, she may not be able to fight it. Maeve shivered, not wanting to feel that pain once more. But what choice did she have? With a trembling hand, she whispered, "I-I will try. . ."

A light enveloped from her body as her ba began seeping into the child's tainted body.

Egypt: Present

Bakura stared at the village with guilt as Maeve sat under a palm tree, biting into an apple she happened to brought on the way. Set played with his Millennium Rod, twirling it in his hand as the three men were tied up behind him, glaring at the people who imprisoned them. But Sadiki didn't understand as he stared at **A**'s yami, just sitting there, eating. What is she doing? What is she planning?

The Millennium Orb glinted in the sunlight as Maeve stopped eating and stared at Set, murmuring, "When is the Master to arrive?"

Set turned from his little fun and stared at Maeve, his ice blue eyes flashing. Holding his Rod delicately, he replied, "He said he shall arrive as soon as it is appropriate." Maeve nodded to him, throwing the apple's core to the ground and playing with one of her arrows, Yami staring at her angrily.

"Just what are you doing?!" he yelled out, everyone caught in surprise. "Maeve, what in the world is wrong with you? Do you not remember who I am?! I am your brother!"

Maeve ignored him, now focusing her attention on Kaiba. He tried to ignore her, turning his head and trying not to stare into her eyes. She smirked and whispered loudly enough for him to hear, "The fool who dares to see the solution. . . is _wiser_ than the man who fears the truth." Kaiba's head quickly went up and glared at her, attempting not to curse at her. But she knew what he was thinking; it was sad to see that Set did not see it as well.

"Aura," Sadiki whispered, staring at the three people of the past, "where is she? Did you. . . If you hurt her, I swear I'll tear your very ribs from your body. . ." Bakura and Set did not pay any attention to him; he was not of importance. Maeve however gazed at the man, pricking her finger against the arrow's sharp tip.

The Priestess then saw Bakura's pitiful form, staring at the village he tried so hard to protect before. Her eyes softened as she watched at him, only Set noticing this change. Yami couldn't understand, a mixture of rage and sadness spreading across his body. He thought that his sister and he were friends. She turned her head and murmured quietly, "No matter what you did, this village would not have survived without you, Bakura."

He didn't reply as he heard a rumbling in the distance, his ears pricking up and turning to see what it is. His eyes squinted at the growing dust cloud, walking forward and holding onto the curved sword at his hip. Kaiba noticed it too; he stared at the cloud and found something familiar. Set stood up, asking quietly, "Is it Enari?"

Bakura glared at the black limousine coming closer and closer, saying, "It's his limo, alright. But he's not slowing down. . ." Sadiki looked up, hope growing inside his chest. Maeve stood also, her green eyes following the approaching automobile like a cat. Silently, Yami struggled to untie the knots around his hands, heart beating fast.

The limousine skidded to a stop against the sand as it flew against Enari's spies, their weapons glinting in their hands. Bakura took out his curved sword, ready for an attack. Set took out his two circular chakrums as Maeve set her bow, unable to know whether this person was an ally or enemy.

A crash helmeted head suddenly popped out of the window, Raziya grinning and waving her hand, exclaiming, "Hey guys! What's up? Having a party, are ya? Nice weapons, where'd you steal it from, eh?" Bakura and Set almost dropped their weapons in disbelief, Maeve staring at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

Behind her a door opened, and Badru, Adio, Chike and Chuma stepped out, holding their heads and stomachs with a groan. "Let's never have her drive again," Badru muttered, his guns and swords all around his body. The moment Set's eyes were upon his weapons, he quickly took out his chakrums and swung them with all his might, flying fast towards Sadiki's men.

In horror Sadiki yelled, "Get out of the way, you fools! Get out!!"

To Be Continued. . .

Sorry for not updating. Things been hectic around here. Okay, so now that the big thing I've been waiting for has finally come, I can finally do some real fun stuff. Comments?


	16. A Hidden Meaning

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual

Disclaimer: . . . . MRSC (Moldy Rotten Stinky Cheese)

Chapter 16: A Hidden Meaning

Immediately they started in formation; Badru tossed one of his swords towards Adio and shot the chakrum with his bullet, splinters of the sharp metal scratching across his face. Adio protected Raziya from the flying disk by slamming the sword against it, shattering easily. Chike and Chuma disappeared, their one task beginning.

With a shaky laugh, Raziya went down and said quickly, "Err, maybe I should stay in the car? Yeah, I'll do that. . ." She gave out a yip as an arrow sped across her face, quickly climbing in and shutting the door. Maeve took out another arrow as she stared at her opponents, Bakura glaring at Adio as they fought a head on sword battle. Set continued throwing his chakrums at Badru, Badru caught one too many times. But no one paid attention to the captives.

Chike and Chuma quietly released the three men, whispering proudly, "And you thought we were no help. If it wasn't for us, you guys could have been caught like this forever, with that weird brother of yours. . ."

"You mean you know?!" Kaiba whispered annoyingly, his eyes darting back towards the battle scene. The twins shrugged; quickly they motioned them towards another location, where they would be safe from the danger.

As Maeve held a shield spell against the many splintering blows from various weapons, she saw her brother silently escaping. But she made no move to stop them, now just determined to stop the armed man from shooting her. Her green eyes sparkled at the plan slowly developing in her mind. Unfortunately, as Badru shot towards Bakura, he dodged out of the way as the bullet flew towards Yami's body. Maeve felt her heart stop beating; she yelled out, "Atemu!!" Yami turned his head and saw the bullet coming closer, his eyes widening in fear.

Quickly murmuring a spell, she slashed her fingers left and right, an X appearing in the air and cutting the bullet in two, exploding just as it made contact with Yami's shoulder. He fell back from the impact, held back by Sadiki and Kaiba, staring at Maeve in disbelief. Bakura suddenly stopped as he stared at her in confusion, Set taking his last chakrums and watching her. The crew looked at her, finally noticing how she looked like **A**, and wondering how in the world she grew longer hair. Yami felt his heart race; does his sister remember?

Looking this way and that, Maeve said in a quick voice, "S-Stop them! They're getting away!" Bakura and Set made no move; they stared at her in suspicion, wondering which side she was on. Sweat began dripping down her throat. _'I cannot lose. . .'_

Maeve bit her lip as she quickly took out an arrow and launched it towards Yami's thigh, Yami screaming in pain. Kaiba and Sadiki now found the control in their muscles; they began running as fast as they could towards the limo. Adio and Badru retreated also, tossing their weapons across their chests and running inside the automobile. Chike and Chuma ran as fast as gazelles inside the car, Kaiba and Sadiki quickly followed, tossing the Pharaoh inside.

Bakura shook his head, pointing towards the car and yelling out, "Set! Toss the chakrum towards the motor of the car!" Set sneered at him, but tossed the sharp disk towards the car, Raziya sleeping on the wheel.

Chike nearly jumped out of his seat as he saw the disk flying towards the car. In a rushed voice Adio shook the twins' cousin, screaming, "Wake up Raziya! Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up!!"

She replied with a snore, swatting an invisible fly. When the chakrum slammed against the hood of the car, everyone began yelling at her, screaming and banging her head against the wheel. Raziya wouldn't budge. As Bakura, Set and Maeve began advancing towards them, Chuma yelled out in an annoyingly persuasive voice, "By the word of all gods, is that a golden plate of cheese burgers?!"

Raziya woke with a start and started the car, exclaiming happily, "Where?!" With an eager smack of the lips, she pulled out and screeched her wheels fast against the sand, driving towards an unreal dream. The three pulled back, shielding their eyes from the opposing mixture of sand and wind. When they opened their eyes seconds later, the limousine was no where in sight.

In the car everyone heaved a big sigh as Chuma and Chike grinned at each other. Chike said with a proud air, "Good idea."

Chuma smirked and swatted away invisible dust, leaning back on the chair with a sigh, saying, "Combine Raziya's two most favorite things, treasure and cheese burgers, and she'll do just about anything for you."

* * *

Yami looked out of the window as sea salt slapped against his face, Zuka unsuccessfully cleaning up the wound caused by the arrow. The Pharaoh winced as the process slowly continued, asked once too many times by Zuka, "Does it hurt? Sorry, never was the medicine expert on this boat. That was **A'**s job. . ." Yami frowned each time he said it. It just reminded him of what happened before. Yami stared at the necklace he kept from the Nubian elder. Something about it was familiar. . . But what? Yugi stared at Yami with worry.

Meanwhile Sadiki leaned against the post of **A**'s room, staring at the various items throughout the small space. He heaved a heavy sigh as he stared at the abnormally messy room, seeing various items such as books and clothing all scattered about the hard wood floor. Walking to the bunk by the window, he sat down and buried his face in his hands, thinking of what would happen next.

_'I can't go back to the Fates now,' _Sadiki thought, _'they know that I'm against them. But why did they want to kill Aura? Was it because Maeve is back? Well, that brings up a whole other series of questions. The High Priest and Healer came back from the dead, and the Tomb Robber. But why them? And why are they working for Apis?' _Sadiki frowned; he didn't like the way this was going. Not only did his brother hold three very powerful pawns in his hands, but he also had captured his queen on the other side, Aura.

_'It's just like a chess game,' _Sadiki thought with bitterness, '_and he took one of the most valuable pieces of the game. And with the most powerful people on his side, it's slim to none for me to win. But how did he convince them? It seems like he's waiting for something. . . Waiting to strike at the last moment. To keep his enemy suspended in a trance, before seeping his fangs in, like a snake.'_

Sadiki's eyes widened as he thought of it. "Like a snake." Where has he said that before? It was like da javu, knowing that he heard something like that before, a long time ago, so long ago that he can't even remember. But when was it? Why did he say such a strange comparison?

"Looks like someone is in deep thought," a voice said, breaking through Sadiki's heavy trance. There's that word again, but Sadiki paid no heed as his eyes furrowed at Kaiba, his eyes inspecting the messy room.

Immediately Sadiki stood, feeling offended that he would step in so easily. "What are you doing here?" he snapped, glaring as Kaiba picked up a picture frame from the table. Kaiba didn't answer; he stared at the picture in his hand, seeing a group of six well fed and happy men, one of them caught in the arms of a golden black haired girl, the same man standing in front of him now. He raised his eyebrows, placing the picture back down on the table.

"Well, it looks like she had a good time while people in Japan were at her funeral," Kaiba said simply, looking around the room once more. "This is Aura's room." Sadiki didn't answer; he didn't have any reason to conform his answer. Kaiba then slanted his eyes towards the Egyptian, saying in a sly voice, "Just how did you meet Aura, anyway?"

"It's too long to explain," Sadiki muttered, looking to another direction. _'And too hard to say.' _Kaiba raised his eyebrows once more, then sat down on the table and set up his laptop, quickly going onto the internet server and going to Kaiba Corp's website. "What are you doing?"

Kaiba turned and gave him a blank stare. "Can't a CEO look at his company's status?" He turned back to the computer and clicked on a link to the shares of the company as Sadiki stared at him blankly.

"Don't you care about Yugi's condition, or even want to know why Maeve and a person who looks exactly like you is out in the world? Do you even care about what's happening to Aura?" he snapped, annoyed at Kaiba's numbness towards the current situation. Kaiba didn't turn his head to answer.

"It's nothing," he murmured, "there's a reasonable explanation for everything. Enari just wants to get my company, that's all." Sadiki wanted to punch him at that moment; does he really only think about his company? But really, Kaiba Corp wasn't the only thing on Kaiba's mind. He began pressing harder on the keyboard as he searched in another window for information about Apis Enari.

Suddenly his eyes glanced towards the window with the Kaiba Corp shares. Of course, shares of his company was bought from people everyday; it was usually very slow. But something about the percentage was strange. His shares of the company was dropping slowly, but surely, now to a 70 percent. He squinted as he stared at the one person buying 30 percent of his shares.

**Share Holder: Maeve Enari**

**Percentage of shares in cart: 55 percent**

**Percentage Increase: 25 percent**

The email cursor suddenly popped onto the screen, repeating "You got mail" over and over, the email from the same person buying the shares to his company. Sadiki was confused at the silence coming from Kaiba; was something wrong? Sadiki walked forward and stared at the computer screen.

Kaiba felt petrified in his seat. Maeve was buying out his company.

* * *

Maeve quietly sipped on her wine glass, the dark red liquid seeping in between her lips. After a gulp she gave a content sigh, circling the rim of the glass with her index finger and looking out to the balcony. The sun broke out into the chamber and left its mark, glittering upon every surface. Her laptop had a blank cursor to it, the email already sent to its destination. _'Quite luxurious Apis Enari is,' _she thought, a glint in her green eyes. _'He's given me his best room. . .'_

She blinked as a click was heard behind her, Maeve taking no notice as she continued her moment of peace. She closed her eyes. A foot step came closer to her, then stopped, then continued on again, only to stop once more. A smile appeared on her face, crossing her legs and elegantly tapping her fingers against the hard wooden table.

"If you have something to say Set," she murmured, sipping the wine once more, "just come up and tell me. We are working for the same man, as you may know."

Set frowned as he sat across the table from her, staring at Maeve with seriousness spread across his face. "Maeve," he said, crossing his arms on the table with one raised suspicious eyebrow, "what are you planning?"

Maeve gave him an unsettling smile, murmuring, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You know what I mean," Set snapped, glaring at her. "You have something up your sleeve, don't you. . .?" Maeve sipped her wine once more.

"My dear Set, if there is anyone to be accused of something, it should be you," she replied, her eyes flashing a warning. Set continued to stare at her, his fingers continuously tapping against the table. Oh dear, he still didn't know what she meant. This was going to be long. She took another sip.

"Why did you attack the Pharaoh? He is your brother; I thought you would do something to protect him from our attacks. What is your motive?" he asked accusingly, staring at the computer screen in front of her. "What's that?" He reached out his hand to turn the laptop in order for him to see it more clearly, but Maeve slapped his hand away, giving no apology.

"It has nothing to do with you, you putrid slime," she snapped, closing the laptop. "Don't you have something to demolish, Priest?" She roughly placed her empty wine glass down, taking her laptop in one hand and holding her jacket in the other, walking out of the room. But before she could take another step, Set jumped off the table and ran in front of her, pointing the Millennium Rod straight at her.

Maeve stared at the small staff, saying, "Where did you get that?"

"Enari has his ways," Set smirked, his blue eyes peering above the sleek surface of the Rod. "You're doing something to Seto Kaiba, aren't you?" Maeve was surprised that he figured it out so quickly; she blinked.

Closing her eyes and giving an eerie smile, she murmured, "And why would you think that?"

"The way you've been acting around him and myself," he said, his lips suddenly curling into a frown. "It was strange. Just what is it. . . Do you have against myself and my reincarnation?" Maeve opened her eyes as a green spark flashed across her stare. Her hands shook slightly, one hand grasping the Millennium Orb.

"You still don't understand, do you?" she said. Set blinked; what is she talking about? She gave a sharp sigh and flicked her head the other direction, continuing, "I should have thought so." Set placed the Millennium Rod down, feeling no need to threaten but to play his part and listen. There was no need for violence. But what her response was, he would never know, for then Apis Enari walked in the room, Bakura following close behind with a glittering Millennium Ring around his neck.

Apis gave a mellow smile as he embraced Maeve, saying in a happy voice, "Ah, my blue lotus, how has the meeting with your brother went?"

"All according to plan," she murmured, biting back a shiver as his breath was felt against her neck. Bakura stared with uneasy eyes; he knew that she was up to something. But what? His eyes then shifted towards the Priest, their stares crossing one another as they thought the same thoughts. Apis gave no notice; he pulled back and slipped two scrolls in her jacket.

His golden eyes glittered as he murmured in her ear, "We'll discuss of them later." Maeve nodded, Set suspicious of what they spoke of. Apis then turned toward Set and Bakura, his tone now set in a rather serious voice, "Has the Pearl been set?"

Bakura nodded, shuffling his duel deck in his hands. "Yes. So far the Pearl has been doing quite well; no actual disturbances were found during the transformation."

Apis nodded and turned towards Set, saying in a strange voice, "And the captives?" Set didn't have to answer; the door opened as the four people inhabiting it stared at the wide spread of people walking pass the chamber with a sad, screaming posture towards an unknown destination. Apis grinned as he saw it, Maeve holding a sad, but neutral face when a group of children passed the door.

Clapping his hands, Apis smiled devilishly and said, "Well, I guess everything is in order, am I correct? Maeve dear, has the email been sent to Kaiba?"

"Yes," she murmured, her head bowed low.

"So he is informed of the current situation?"

"Yes."

"Good, very good," Apis Enari grinned, pushing his hand through his reckless brown hair and staring at the landscape of his estate. "Everything is almost ready. We just need one more thing. . ." Suddenly the clatter of chains grew louder as the four stared back at the steady flow of prisoners, finding a mass of teenagers that grew familiar through Maeve's eyes. "And here's the bait."

"Argh! Get your hands off me you shmuck!" Joey spat out, slapping his buttercup hair against the guards' face. Tea, Tristan, and Mr. Moto struggled to be set free as Ryou and Mokuba marched quietly behind them, feeling a loss in the pits of their stomach. A triumphant laugh made their heads lift up, staring with a startled expression as Ryou saw Bakura, and as Mokuba saw Set.

"Seto!" he screamed, struggling to get closer to the man he thought was his brother. Set stared at him blankly. Ryou didn't say anything towards Bakura; he knew that he was still alive. Bakura gave a smile to him, and whether it was an intentionally good smile or not, Ryou did not know. Mokuba couldn't understand; what was he doing with Apis Enari?

That was then his vision shifted towards Maeve, his eyes widening in surprise as his brain processed that it was Aura he was seeing, not Maeve. "Au-!" he started, reaching out his hand.

The door slammed in front of him as he was pressed forward into the dark chamber approaching him, not knowing of the horrible nightmare that lain inside of it.

To Be Continued. . .

Wow, it's been awhile. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this, and to clear up a few things, in the chapter before it mentioned the word _ba_, which is, yes, another Egyptian term for your soul, as your ka is your life force. Ahem, and for some others, Maeve and Apis is not married. Do you hear me? NOT MARRIED. She just used his last name for some weird reason.

And another thing. The ages.

Apis Enari - 26 years old

Sadiki - 20

Chike and Chuma - 18

Adio - 21

Zuka and Badru - 19

Aura/**A** - 18

YGO cast - 18

Mr. Moto - Who knows.

Yami, Maeve, Bakura, Set - 3000 (though they don't look it)

Fates - Really, REALLY old.

Further info shall be released in the future. Remember that this story takes part a year later than the first fanfic, so everyone is a year older.


	17. Kaiba's Decision

Things Unseen; Sequel to the Millennium Ritual 

Disclaimer: . . . . .

Chapter 17: Kaiba's Decision

Kaiba sat down in the Egyptian café with shifty eyes, sipping his black coffee cautiously as if it has the chance of being poisoned. His left hand brushed the copy of the email on the table, glancing down every once in awhile to see if it was really there. Yup, still there. He sighed wearily. His silver briefcase was by his side, as usual, and he let his mind wander, wondering if his little brother was alright. He was worried about him, as usual; it was natural for him to feel this way. He picked up the piece of paper and read through it for the 56th time, unsure of what its meaning was.

**Seto Kaiba,  
I believe you had taken a look at the shares of Kaiba Corp, am I not correct? Well, of course you did, that is what any _good_ CEO would do, is it not?**

_'What the heck is that supposed to mean?'_ he thought, continuing on.

**I have a message for you, from Apis Enari. He does not care about your computer chips, much less your duel disks. You do realize that the Osiris Tournament is over, and that there was no actual prize. Hopefully, you did. Do you know of the disappearances around the world? It has appeared much throughout the news stations on the television. What would happen if your brother joined those privileged few?**

This part of the letter made Kaiba shiver, his hands almost shaking from the thought. He didn't want his brother to disappear, but it made clear of one thing; Apis Enari is somehow involved with the kidnaps. But over thousands of people were kidnapped; not only in Egypt, but around the world. How could he have done it? And so quickly. . . Kaiba continued reading.

**Meet me at the Nile Café, three blocks to the left of the Enari Hotel, at four o' clock this afternoon. Be cautious; many enemies are scattered amongst Cairo. There, we shall speak to each other, face to face, empty handed.**

**Bring no one with you.**

**- Maeve**

And it stopped there, as Kaiba set down the piece of paper and stared at the clock above him. 3:59. _'One more minute,'_ Kaiba thought, feeling his heart beating faster. 40, 41, 42, 43 seconds. . . It was one thing to threat about his company. 50, 51, 52 seconds. . . It was another to threat about him. 57, 58, 59 seconds. . .

It was a completely different situation to threat about his brother's safety.

The bell rang as the minute hand struck 12, signaling the time now 4:00. That was almost too nerve wrecking; Kaiba shook his head and took a big chug of his coffee. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. Any moment now, the golden black haired woman with the green eyes will come strolling down the street, and actually speak to him, just after the fight in the Nubian village. It was almost too surreal. He opened his eyes.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kaiba," Maeve murmured, sipping her tea as she handed out a brown stick towards him. "Sugar cane?" Kaiba almost jumped out of his seat as he stared at the Aura look alike; the second before, the seat was empty. Her green eyes sparkled as she stared at him, giving a playful shrug and saying, "What? No hug?"

Kaiba snorted, drinking his black coffee once more and replying, "The last thing I want to do is hug a 3000 year old hag."

Maeve smiled eerily, murmuring, "Ah, so you believe me."

"No," Kaiba muttered, "that's what we call an insult."

"I am familiar with that," she murmured, sipping her tea once more. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman Kaiba met a year ago, in the Millennium Orb, almost killing him for looking like Set. In fact, Kaiba still didn't understand why. He inspected her as she daintily patted her lips with a napkin, taking a bite out of the sugar cane.

Her black hair was up in a tight bun, her golden hair down, obviously. She wore all black; he wondered if there was a dress code amongst the three people. She wore a long ebony dress, her black pea coat almost completely hiding her holster top, golden armbands on her, well, arms. And lastly, the Millennium Orb glinted in the sunlight around her neck, as Kaiba remembered who was the first to wear it in this millennium.

She set her cup down and stared at him with a peculiar look, murmuring, "Well, do you have any questions for me, Seto Kaiba?" He huffed and crossed his arms, as Maeve crossed her legs at the same time, as if to annoy him. Kaiba glared; he hated Egyptians. Why don't they ever leave him alone?

"Yes," he snapped, setting his own cup firmly down on the table, shaking the forks and knives placed on there, "Why did you attack us? According to what you said a year ago, Yugi's. . . other half is your brother; Why would you attack him then? Any good sibling would protect their brother."

Maeve's eyes flashed a glare at him as she started playing with the butter knife with her fingers. _'My my,'_ she thought bitterly, staring at Set's reincarnation, _'someone sounds annoyingly familiar. . .'_ She snapped off a piece of her sugar cane before she popped it in her mouth.

"And for my second question," he said suspiciously, "why are you here, seeing me, and only me?"

"I have my reasons," she murmured, a glint in her green eyes. She wasn't going to answer his first question, and Kaiba knew it. Oh well, may as well let it linger in the back of his brain for now. He took his fork and started stabbing some of the dates beside it.

Kaiba felt a rather annoyingly bitter mood today, for then he smirked, saying, "I see. A secret admirer, are you? You know, if you wanted to see me, you could have instead sent me a fax of telling your affections for me. That would have been more efficient, for you and me both."

"Very funny," she murmured, crunching on her sweet, "but I am not interested in rats." Kaiba snorted; as if. "I have no time for chit chat; we need to talk."

"Lets. I'm just waiting for you to answer my questions," Kaiba said, leaning back against his garden chair.

She glared at him, thinking that it may have been better to talk to. . . What's his name? Sadiki? But it's too late for that now. Besides, she has some bigger fish to fry. "I am seeing you, and only you, because of one reason. You would be the only one who would be most affected by the information I will give you now."

"What do you mean?" Kaiba said sternly, leaving his defenses up.

"What I mean is," she murmured, closing her eyes to take in some calm energy, "that your brother, and my brother's friends, are in Apis Enari's hands."

Kaiba almost dropped the coffee on his lap. _'No, not again. . .'_ Immediately he stood up and yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Where did you take my brother?!"

Everyone in the café turned from their lunches to stare at them as Maeve sipped her tea quietly. When she opened her eyes, her stare sent such a chill throughout the shop, that everyone quickly turned back to their own businesses, almost forgetting the sudden outburst. "Mr. Kaiba, if you wish for me to inform you of where your brother is. . ." she murmured, taking out her hand and slowly making it into a fist.

_"You must keep a quiet voice."_ She said it in a strange tone, clutching her fingers into a fist. Suddenly Kaiba's face turned pale; he couldn't breathe. But how? Kaiba stared at Maeve as her lips parted every once and awhile as her fingers continued clutching. His brows furrowed as he thought, _'The witch. . .'_

Maeve let go, and stared at him as he collapsed into his chair, rubbing his neck over and over. When he turned to stare at her, Maeve had a blank façade to her look, saying, "Now, do you want me to continue?"

* * *

"How about this one?" Odeon asked Ishizu, holding out a yam towards her.

Ishizu shook her head, saying in her smooth voice, "No, take the other one. The one that was next to it." She pointed to the one near Merik's hand as he busied himself with the golden wristband's sheen, staring at his reflection. Merik blinked for a moment, looked down, and preoccupied himself once more, Odeon taking the yam and placing it inside his bag.

Today was the day that the Ishtars went shopping, as it was their familiar routine for a Wednesday morning. As usual, Odeon was the responsible one and dragged Merik out of bed and to do his chores outside, while Ishizu stayed inside and did the house chores on her own, as Odeon goes off to work. But Wednesdays are different. Today they make some quality family time, just enjoying their moments together as they shop for food and house hold products. But Merik and Odeon noticed something today that was rather peculiar.

Ishizu sighed heavily as she remembered the last time Yugi and herself met. It was rather mind blowing to see a dead girl that certainly did not act dead walk around yelling at twin thieves. For days now, she was thinking of this, and wondered how her Pharaoh faired in the sight. She sighed again.

"Ishizu," Merik exclaimed, "what's with the look? You've been having that face all day now."

"Now Master Merik, lets keep Miss Ishizu with her thoughts, shall we?" Odeon suggested in a non pressing voice. But Merik wouldn't let go; that look was annoying him for awhile.

"Is there something you need to talk about? You know that I'm always there for you sis," Merik said, slapping the dust off of his black jeans. Ishizu gave a small smile; she already knew that. But really, there wasn't anything need to be done. She was sure that whatever she saw before was just a distortion of reality, her mind playing tricks. Ishizu was sure of it.

Well, she was, until she saw in her blue eyes two tall figures walking across the street, not noticing the Ishtar family. But even from far away, she could recognize the familiar stance of the two, the way the woman's head was held high in modesty and majesty, quietly murmuring to the tall man beside her, his arms moving back and forth in a swinging motion, one hand clutching a briefcase.

It was Kaiba and Maeve. Walking together.

At first Ishizu couldn't believe her eyes. What she couldn't believe was that one, Maeve was alive, and two, Kaiba was actually walking with her. That goes against his very moral about Egyptians. Odeon and Merik noticed where she was staring, and watched in surprise as they saw the familiar whisk of a white trench coat disappear around the wall, and they thought, why would Kaiba be here?

Ishizu tucked her canvas bag closer to her as she ran towards them, with Merik and Odeon following close behind.

"You are confident that you can handle this?" Maeve murmured, giving a half smile towards the tall man beside her. Kaiba nodded; it wasn't as if he had any choice. "Now remember. . . Seto Kaiba. Do whatever they ask you. No questions asked. I will keep Enari at bay, and escape when I have the chance."

"And if you don't succeed?" Kaiba sneered, glaring at her with suspicion. "How do I know if you'll keep to the plan? And though I know that you aren't the kind of person to back out, I also know that you will do anything if it will suit your own needs." The Ishtars stayed behind a nearby store, watching the pair talk and listening with a straining effort.

"Mr. Kaiba," Maeve murmured, her green eyes flashing, "you and I both know what is on the line here if my plan does not succeed."

"_Our_ plan," he snapped, his own eyes flashing, "and what happens when Enari finds out about. . . Set?" Maeve stared at him blankly, quiet for a moment.

"I will make sure nothing happens to him," Maeve murmured softly, "so long as you keep your end of the bargain as well." Kaiba nodded as a taxi pulled up to them as the door pulled open. Kaiba stepped in as he gave one last glance to her. She gave him a small smile, leaving him with, "Play it well."

The man nodded and pulled the door shut, the taxi driving away into the busy street and onto the harbor. Maeve held a blank face, smoothing out the wrinkles in her ebony dress and black knee length jacket, moving some of the hair out of her eyes. In this moment of silence, Ishizu squinted her eyes towards her; what was she planning to do? What was her plan?

A black limo pulled up to her as the chauffer quietly opened the door for her, the man guiding the elegant woman into the automobile. But before Maeve went inside the luxurious car, she said loud enough for them to hear, "Oh, Priest Isis, by the way. . ." She turned her head and stared directly at Ishizu, making the hair on Ishizu's neck crawl as she stood as still as a stone. "Please let my brother the Pharaoh know that I'm dreadfully sorry for the arrow I placed in his thigh." Merik and Odeon gave a sickening look as she said that. What kind of sister would act as so?

She turned her head back towards the car so only her tightly knotted bun was shone in Ishizu's eyes, saying, "I believe that he may need your help. Why don't you busy yourself into visiting him on the Nile? I'm sure he doesn't receive much guests in a boat, after all." With another strange smile towards her hidden foe, Maeve disappeared in the limo, and as suddenly as it appeared, the car vanished, as though into thin air.

Ishizu gave a frightened look. She didn't like this, she didn't like this at all. She stood from her hiding place and ran across to the harbor nearest the Enari Hotel, not noticing that her family wasn't there behind her.

To Be Continued. . .

Wow, long time since I updated. Well, I had fun with this chapter. I like Maeve's character now; she's changed a lot, hasn't she? But don't worry, it's all for a good reason. BTW, this chapter's named Kaiba's Decision for a reason. Will try to update sooner. Bye.

By the way, Raziya is 15 years old.


End file.
